Polson fire service operation splits up

Polson’s joint fire service operation split into two separate entities Wednesday, and the heads of each organization have differing opinions about how it will impact the community.

Polson City Manager Mark Shrives anticipates taxpayers will see no difference in services because of the split, but Polson Rural Fire Board Chairman Jack Clapp believes the division will result in a significant division of resources.

The separation comes after several tumultuous months within the Polson Fire Department, which has included the Polson Rural Fire District and the city of Polson’s fire district.

For many years the two entities operated under an interlocal agreement that allowed the departments to share equipment and volunteers. The fire chief was hired and paid by the city of Polson and volunteered as the chief of the rural district. The chief reported to both entities.

A report released earlier this year by former Missoula Rural Fire District Chief Curt Belts concluded the leadership structure was problematic.

“There is no clear chain of command in place, particularly where direct reporting is concerned,” Belts wrote. “There are many end runs being made as a result, especially by the firefighters when they don’t get their way or don’t believe or trust in the command structure. Internal conflicts erupt as a result. The unfortunate, but not unexpected result of ineffective leadership is the internal organizational division that comes in the form of intergroup conflict.”

The report was commissioned by the city of Polson after a November 2014 vote of no confidence in longtime Chief John Fairchild was issued by the officers of the Polson Fire Department.

Fairchild resigned in July. He vouched for the report’s finding that it had been difficult to conduct duties with multiple bosses.

“There was more than two bosses,” Fairchild said. “I had this big giant monster. I had the public to deal with, I had the membership, the city commission, the city manager and the rural board to answer to.”

Fairchild said he made multiple attempts to streamline the chain of command by having one of the departments contract from the other, but that he was unsuccessful.

 Polson Assistant Police Chief Clint Cottle was appointed as the city of Polson’s fire chief after Fairchild’s departure. Shrives said Cottle was chosen because Belts’ report indicated there was a lack of leadership in the department.

“From my position in the city, Clint is qualified to be the city’s fire chief,” Shrives said. “He’s got a cadre of longtime officers that will support him at the fire scene. He is not going to be manning the hose, he is going to be requiring leadership. He has leadership qualities. I made my decision based on deficiencies that I saw in the report.”

Cottle said he has entered into fire training since he started the job, and that he believes his experience in leadership and his officers’ experience in firefighting provides adequate coverage.

“How I view the job of the fire chief is that on an incident as an incident commander, I make sure the firemen have the assets that they need to do whatever task they have in front of them and give support in that way,” Cottle said. “The other job of the incident commander is to make sure things are being done safely and put people in command that have experience. There are a lot of well-educated officers on this department who have more than enough experience to perform operational duties. My role right now is more of an administrative role, and also to learn the fire operation as I go.”  

Cottle said he’s been working on team-building within the department.

“One reason I was hired was because morale wasn’t very good,” Cottle said. “I’ve been working on teamwork and responding to calls as a unit and getting the job done.”

The board of the Polson Rural Fire District disagreed. They concluded Cottle does not have experience in fighting fire and should not be appointed as chief.

“He will not be on the end of the hose, but he will be directing the operation,” Polson Rural Fire Board Chairman Jack Clapp said. “To direct the operation and make potential life-and-death decisions requires experience. I have nothing but respect for Clint Cottle, but it is a dangerous environment.”

The rural board retained Fairchild as its chief in July.

The city of Polson took that as an indication that the rural district wanted to end the interlocal agreement, according to Shrives. On Sept. 2 Shrives sent the rural board a letter saying that the city government officially intended to not renew the interlocal agreement. Shrives claims the agreement ended in 2012 and that the city commission never officially renewed it.

But the rural board takes issue with the claim.

Clapp provided a copy of the interlocal agreement that states the document automatically renews each year, unless either fire entity gives notice of dissolution at least 90 days before June 30.

Clapp said it was never the rural board’s intent to dissolve the agreement, and that he would have liked to have seen an effort to strengthen unity  for the two entities, as recommended in Belts’ report. He said if the two department’s 40 volunteers continue to serve both groups, then two separate sets of identical equipment would have to be made, instead of the single set that currently exists.

Clapp also takes issue with the fact that the public did not have the opportunity to give their input on the separation.

“The people who truly end up losing here is the citizen,” Clapp said. “They are going to have to pay more for less service.”

Shrives disagrees. He said the departments likely will continue to operate under a county mutual aid agreement that allows departments to call for backup across district boundaries.

“It is not going to affect fire service for the citizens of Polson,” Shrives said.

Fairchild falls somewhere in the middle. He agrees that some resources will have to be duplicated because of the split, but he is glad he only has one boss.

“I just want the public to have some patience,” Fairchild said. “We will get it ironed out. We are still going to provide a good level of service to them.”

Reporter Megan Strickland may be reached at 758-4459 or by email at mstrickland@dailyinterlake.com.