Firefighter Appreciation Week chaired by Governor John Hickenlooper and United States Senator’s Mike Bennet and Mark Udall came to a close on Saturday with the Fight Fire With Beer Festival staged on the Twenty Ninth Street mall in Boulder. Sixteen Colorado breweries participated in the day-long celebration that paid tribute to the men and women who risk their lives fighting fires, while providing the public with a platform to meet firefighters in person and thank them for their service.

The Fight Fire With Beer – Governor’s Cup statewide beer competition was also held, and the following winning breweries won the honor to sell the winning brews all year to raise funds to meet the material and training needs of firefighters throughout the state.

Firefighter Appreciation Week kicked-off in Lyons Colorado on Saturday August 10th at Oscar Blues with the Fight Fire With Music, Beer & BBQ festival chaired by Lyons Mayor Julie Van Domelen. Thanking the firefighters and their families who support and sustain them, she introduced Lyons Fire Department Chief, J.J. Hoffman, who said; “I want to thank the residents of Colorado for supporting firefighters during this extremely difficult fire season. My fellow firefighters and I believe it is a privilege to serve our community, so we are both honored and humbled at the outpouring of support.”

During Firefighter Appreciation Week a number of key events were staged which included the Fight Fire With Running 5K Fire Run promoted in conjunction with Color Me Rad that attracted over 4,000 participants to the Botanical Garden’s in Chatfield, and the Fight Fire With Bike event staged in conjunction with Denver Bike Night that attracted over 3,000 cycling enthusiasts. In addition, various promotions were created that included the Fight Fire With Fish tasking menus offered at all of the JAX Fish Houses and Oster Bars in Colorado, and the Fight Fire With Coffee promotions offered by Starbucks.

Created to encourage the public to turn out to support their local firefighters, Lyons Mayor Julie Van Domelen Chaired the Fight Fire With Mayors coalition, which included Mayors throughout Colorado who promoted the tribute week in their local towns.

Key Sponsors of this year’s Firefighter Appreciation Week included Oskar Blues Brewery, Cemex, Starbucks and JAX Fish House & Oster Bars.

“We have a long standing tradition of supporting our firefighters at Oskar Blues, so it was a real treat to have Firefighter Appreciation Week kick off in Lyons this year at the original Oskar Blues Grill and Brew restaurant.” Said Curtiss Smith, Manager of the Lyons location. “We had a great turnout, as everyone was excited to have the opportunity to thank firefighters in person.”

Cemex, a global building materials company that provides high-quality products in more than 50 countries was proud to sponsor firefighters on the local and statewide level. “Cemex is proud to support Firefighter Appreciation Week in Colorado, and to highlight the outstanding work of the Lyons Fire Department,” said Shane Wilson, Cemex Plant Manager In Lyons. “Since safety is one of our core values, it’s an honor to support our brave men and women firefighters who risk their lives to keep all of us safe.”

“Starbucks was both pleased and proud to support Firefighter Appreciation Week in Colorado,” said Boulder Store Manager Kelly Cavanaugh. “On behalf of all our employees, it was a real honor to support our local firefighters and to enable the public to do so as well.”

“It was truly an honor for the Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar family of restaurants to sponsor this years firefighter tribute week through our Fight Fire With Fish initiative.” said John-Mart Larter, Manager of JAX. “Additionally, it was our distinct privilege to welcome so many firefighters into our dining room during Firefighter Appreciation Week allowing us the opportunity to thank them in person for their incredible service.”