Child Seat Program

Montrose Fire Protection District’s Child Seat Program

There is a 90% misuse of child passenger safety seats among parents and care providers. This puts infants and children’s lives at needless risk and it is the goal of the Montrose Fire Dept. certified technicians to reduce these risks, so in 2004 the Montrose Fire Dept. started a car seat inspection program. This program started with 2 inspectors and continued until the demand grew and more inspectors were added in 2006. All technicians had to complete the national standardized child passenger safety technician certification course. This course is usually four to five days long and combines classroom instruction, hands-on work with car seats and vehicles, and a community safety seat checkup event, where students demonstrate proper use and installation of child restraints and safety belts and then teach these skills to parents.

Successful completion of this course certifies the individual as a CPS technician for two years. We currently have 5 certified car seat technicians that have completed this course. This course is open to anyone and scholarships have been available to pay for the course. If you have an interest in becoming certified please contact the Fire Dept.

Car seat inspections are done on Mondays by appointment only (no walk ins please). An appointment can be made by calling (970) 249-9181. Montrose Fire Dept has a limited supply of replacement car seats and booster seats. These are typically reserved for parents that have a very limited income or whose car seat has exceeded its useful service date. When needed, car seats can be purchased for $25 and booster seats for $15. This fee must be paid before the inspection takes place and cannot be waived. There is no fee to have your current seat inspected.

We appreciate your interest in the Montrose Fire Dept. car seat inspection program for further information please contact Station 1 at (970) 249-9181.