Alan Fletcher - fighting fires for city he helped create
by Karla Florence Smith

October 2001

You can always recognize Alan Fletcher, council member of Centennial�s Ward IV�he�ll be the one wearing the Mickey Mouse watch.

The watch, which Fletcher �always� wears, came into his possession after his father, who served on the board of the Genesee Fire Department, passed away in 1995.

However, it isn�t his father who Fletcher, a firefighter for the Cunningham Fire District, credits for starting him on that career path. That honor goes to his mother, who now lives in Florida.

Fletcher, a Colorado native and the middle son of three, was born and raised in the Green Mountain area west of Denver. When he was 15, his parents moved the family to Genesee.

�It was hard (leaving) everyone and everything I knew,� he said. �It was a traumatic experience for me.�

Fletcher�s mother, realizing her son�s difficulty with the move, drove him every school day from Genesee to Green Mountain to be educated in the �old neighborhood.�

When Fletcher turned 16, with driver�s license in hand, he was able to drive himself to Green Mountain for the remainder of his high school years.

This past summer, Fletcher was able to attend his 20th high school reunion. He reflects on how that wouldn�t have been possible if his parents hadn�t made it possible.

�It was fun to reunite with people I (went) to kindergarten with,� he said. �I was glad I didn�t lose that.�

In May 1978, shortly after the Fletcher family moved, Sue Fletcher joined the ranks of volunteers with the Genesee Volunteer Fire Department.

�My dad and I thought, �This is pretty cool. We should check into this,�� said Fletcher.

So, at 15, Fletcher and his dad joined �mom.� Fletcher became the Genesee Volunteer Fire Department�s youngest fire department volunteer, up to that time.

�The volunteer fire department was made up of housewives and full-time employees and operated out of a teeny tiny barn,� said Fletcher. �The volunteers had a 1977 four-wheel drive truck and we were lucky if we had enough bunker coats. We did the best we could with what we had.�

Although Fletcher grew up thinking he wanted to be a stunt man and was intrigued by a potential career in �performing,� his path always seemed to lead back to the fire department and other rescue-related jobs.

During high school, he worked part-time at the Genesee Water and Sanitation District, which just so happened to be located in the same building as the fire department.

After graduating from high school in 1981, Fletcher continued his education and earned his associate degree in criminal justice. While earning his degree, he continued to work with the fire department and was eventually promoted to assistant chief as a full-time employee.

�It was a great opportunity for a young person,� he said, adding he was everything from cook to bottle washer.

While battling a forest fire in 1981, Fletcher met his first wife, a volunteer with the Lookout Mountain Fire Department. In 1990, some time after they married, Jeffrey, their first son, was born.

Fletcher soon realized the Genesee Fire Department wasn�t able to provide the career opportunities he needed.

�I applied at the Cunningham Fire District when they had an opening for an inspector/investigator and I got the job,� he said. �It was different from what I had been doing. I began to build my career as an investigator. I got a lot of experience in fire investigation and hazardous materials.�

In 1992, Fletcher and his wife had their second son, Michael.

The next year wasn�t, to say the least, a good year for Fletcher. He turned 30, his mother suffered a stroke (she has had two to date but is �doing fine�), and the Fletchers dissolved their marriage.

On the rebound but gaining momentum, Fletcher tapped into his �performer aspirations� through a volunteer program offered at what was then The Denver Museum of Natural History Museum, where he took the lead in the �Camouflage and Deception� and �Aliens are Awesome� shows geared towards children. Additionally, he returned to school and earned a degree in fire science.

In 1996, one of Fletcher�s friends played matchmaker by introducing the Honda-riding, fire-fighting Fletcher to a Harley-riding woman who worked at Aurora Presbyterian Hospital.

�There was no connection there at all,� said Fletcher. However, the outing presented another opportunity. He met a woman, Brenda, who worked in admissions.

�We talked for awhile and then I gave her a �coupon� for one free motorcycle ride,� reflected Fletcher. The two later began dating.

That same year, Fletcher, promoted to lieutenant with the Cunningham Fire District, left the investigative work behind to get back �on line.� This meant direct involvement in firefighting and rescue.

Fletcher and Brenda married in 1997, and he adopted Brenda�s 4-year-old daughter, Mikayla.

In 1999, Fletcher was promoted to captain, which put him back in a managerial role responsible for three stations within the district.

�I�m now called the �shift commander,� but I still respond to emergencies and special situations,� Fletcher said.

Rumblings about the creation of a new city started in 1998 when Fletcher was president of the local firefighter�s union.

Fletcher said the union had been constantly active in trying to find ways to keep other cities from annexing their fire district.

He called Randy Pye (presently mayor of Centennial), one of the key figures in the push for Centennial, and asked him if they had thought about including the east side of Parker Road in Centennial.

At a subsequent steering committee meeting, Fletcher learned more about the Centennial effort and met Betty Wotring.

�I became more involved as a citizen and as the area leader for the north side of Smoky Hill,� he said.

Fletcher says the entire incorporation effort could have failed in many ways.

�But everything was turning out and you knew it was the right thing,� he said. �I believed in the incorporation effort 100 percent. It�s rewarding to know I helped establish the foundation of this city.�

Fletcher, with no previous experience with government, ran for one of the eight spots open for Centennial council members and was elected in February 2001.

�It was quite an opportunity to be involved in this grassroots effort and then be elected into a management role for Centennial,� he said. �Only in America!�

Wotring was also elected to represent Ward IV. (She is the area leader for the south side of Smoky Hill.)

The Fletchers thought they could breathe a sigh of relief after the incorporation effort and election, but soon discovered �a whole different aspect of public service.�

�There are council meetings, committee meetings, the neighborhood association meetings�it�s a full time job without pay,� he said.

Fletcher was undecided about running for the position again in November, but had help with the decision. �My wife kept telling me I�d be disappointed if I didn�t,� he said. And so, his name will once again appear on the ballot.

Fletcher sits on the Facilities Committee; the Information Technology Committee; the Rules, Procedures and Ethics Committee; and the Annexation Committee for the City of Centennial. He also serves on the Cherry Creek Basin Water Authority Board.