Firefighters Scope Out Houses To Save During Evacuation Drill In Colorado Springs

By STEPHEN HOBBS stephen.hobbs@gazette.com -Larkspur Fire Marshall Randy Johnson drove through a residential neighborhood in Colorado Springs looking for houses he could save. He had identified a safe location where his 13-peron fire crew could assemble, listened for updates on the status of the fire and surveyed roofing and vegetation that would incinerate in "a heart beat." In the event of what he called a "right here, right now" blaze, his crew would have about 10 seconds to decide whether or not it could save a home, before moving on. "The wildland-urban interface is a really sketchy environment," he said.