Golden honors local volunteer firefighters with life-size bronze sculpture

A life-size bronze sculpture honors close to 150 years of volunteer fire service in Golden.

The sculpture by Colorado artist Austin Weishel — a volunteer firefighter himself — depicts three life-size figures: a male firefighter kneeling beside a child and a female firefighter with her hand on the child’s shoulder.

City and fire department officials planned to unveil the sculpture at 11 a.m. Saturday during a formal ceremony at Golden Fire Station 21 at 911 10th Street in Golden, where it is installed.

Funded primarily by donations from residents and businesses, the $165,000 public art display is meant to be a three-dimensional "thank you" to the men and women who give their time and expertise to protect the City of Golden.

Tom Young, the Golden firefighter who coordinated the project, said the sculpture is a combination of two of Weishel’s works.

The female firefighter, Young said, is one-of-a-kind at this time and was created at the suggestion of former Golden Fire Chief Alicia Welch.

“After I met with Austin and, and we looked at his artwork and I confirmed that we wanted him to do the job I brought the idea back to Chief Welch,” he said. “And she suggested because of the diversity of Golden Fire Department, with so many women in our fire department, she thought it'd be cool to add that piece.”

“I see it (the sculpture) as a forever tribute,” Young said. “We now have career firefighters and, you know, a majority of the career firefighters get started as a volunteer.”

Young said he also hopes the addition of the female firefighter will inspire young girls to consider a career as a firefighter.

“I also think it's gonna be a great way to welcome people to our administrative building,” he said.

The first formal fire brigade was established in Golden in 1872. By 1879, three brigades were combined into one, creating the Golden Fire Department (GFD). For the following 136 years, Golden has relied on volunteers to protect the city.

Today, the GFD is a full-service, combination department with 35 volunteer firefighters, 30 full-time paid firefighters, and administrative staff. They respond to fires, wildland fires, water rescues, high-angle rope rescues, ice rescues, medical emergencies, vehicle crashes, hazardous materials incidents, and other calls for service.

Fundraising for the project began in 2019.

During that year, Golden’s volunteer firefighters responded to 2,322 emergency incidents and logged 16,173 hours for training and shifts.