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Fire Chief Apologizes To Commission, Gets Permit

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Oct 14, 2009 9:53 pm US/Mountain

Fire Chief Apologizes To Commission, Gets Permit

Written by Brian Maass

DENVER (CBS4) ― With one board member calling it a "unique situation," the Jefferson County Planning Commission voted unanimously Wednesday night to approve plans for a 5,000 square foot fire training center that was actually built in the summer of 2008 and opened in January of 2009.

A CBS4 investigation found that the Fairmount Fire Protection District built the $750,000 facility without ever getting any of the required county permits.

"I clearly misunderstood. I'm sorry, I made a mistake," said Fire Chief Don Angell. "Since the buck stops with the fire chief it stops with me. My apologies to the board in Jefferson County," Angell told the board. He said he thought his department was exempt from the necessary county building and zoning permits.

Jefferson County planners confirmed what a CBS4 probe revealed Monday night.

"The existing burn tower was built without permits," said Jefferson County planner Josh Drexler.

The Fairmount Fire Chief initially maintained he did not need to go through the same permit process as other builders because he represented a "quasi governmental entity." Additionally, Angell said he skipped the permitting process because he was in a hurry and felt the red tape would slow things down and jeopardize funding for the building.

But by Wednesday night, a contrite fire chief repeatedly asked for forgiveness.

"This was my mistake and I value your process," Angell told the board.

Several board members said they were impressed with the apology.

"I'm sure if we did it over again it might have gone a little different," said board member Jim Cole.

Jefferson County Planning Director John Wolforth said he was unaware of any government agency building an entire structure without ever getting the required permits.

(© MMIX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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