Two sides to every story: Vote yes for Evergreen fire levy

Let me introduce myself: My name is Brodie Verworn and I will become an elected member of the Evergreen Fire Board come the summer of 2018. I have been in EMS since 1998, starting out in Seeley Lake, then moving to Ravalli Countyy in 2000, becoming an EMT-B, an EMT-I, then moving up to the Flathead in 2004, where I joined the South Kalispell Volunteer Fire Department, then was hired on at the Big Mountain Fire Department, where I have spent the last 12 years as a career firefighter/paramedic (obtaining my degree in paramedicine in 2010,) also having been a part of the Bigfork Fire Department for over seven years. I am also the Western Region Team Leader for the SIM-MT project, putting on high fidelity simulation education for hospitals, clinics, EMS and fire departments all across Montana.

All in all, 20 years of experience! Twenty years of my life, and now I just read of an Evergreen Fire Rescue board member, the only one who voted “n” regarding the mill levy request, besmirching the Evergreen Fire District’s proposed mill levy. From my understanding, he’s 64 years old and possibly ran as an ambulance driver in college for a short period of time. As for his time in the Flathead, he hasn’t ever been a first responder with Evergreen Fire or any other local department. He has never spent the time to get to the level of EMT, (140 hours) intermediate or advanced EMT (450-800 additional hours) or paramedic (1,300-2,500 additional hours depending on your class). He has no idea the hours of training each month to stay proficient on these skills, and that’s just the medical side of things. Being a safe, competent and proficient firefighter takes weeks and months of classes, task training, and didactic courses, not to mention the fact that you must don 85 pounds of gear and enter a burning structure, put out a fire, save human life, and make it out safely yourself. When I asked Chief Williams what is the time and cost incurred to the department from the time a probationary cadet comes on board to having them meet the minimal requirements to be on their own, his approximation was “one year and $5,000.” Yes, ladies and gentlemen, $5,000 and a year for a “minimal” EMT/firefighter.

Now, there is someone who has never laced up the boots or put on a uniform here in the Flathead for any of the agencies, but is “involved in a number of public entities responsible for millions of dollars of operational budgets and construction budgets” that wants to tell you, the voting public in the Evergreen Fire District, about public safety and how it works. He’ll tell you with a straight face that, “Yes, there is personnel turnover, but this turnover has given the fire district its personality and character today.”

Let me ask you, the voters, a question: When it comes time, and you are having the worst day of your life, and it’s you, or your loved one that is facing a life-or-death crisis, be it a medical emergency, a traumatic accident, or your home is on fire and your family is trapped inside, who do you want performing the skills that could mean you live or die when you call 911? Do you want a crop of new guys, who maybe saw something similar to what your crisis is back when they were in EMT school, but now it’s the real deal, and they are most likely filled with sheer terror and expected to function cool and calm and to get it right, otherwise someone (you/your family) might end up dead? Or, would you want that core group who has worked together over the years, who have the ability to take that new EMT and put them by their side and get them those initial patient contacts while functioning as a seasoned provider and the odds of you or your loved ones coming out of this alive are that much greater?

Evergreen Fire District has trained several, then lost five, personnel over the past 12 months, coming to a total of $25,000. That is personnel who served this district, trained and educated with Evergreen Fire Rescue’s money, only to leave to find someplace to make a living with their talents, paid for by the Evergreen Fire District.

As a taxpayer in this district, I won’t hesitate for a moment to pay the small increase to ensure that those responding to my emergency are well trained and competent. No, I’m not a fan of more taxes, but what my money is buying me, my neighbors, and even the individual who is against this raise, are competent and well-trained individuals who are in every sense of the word, “professionals,” who are well trained and will be there in our darkest hour.

As taxpayers in this district, every one of you should also be your own advocates. Feel free to ask those who wear the uniforms where you live and those who serve you in that capacity. Regarding the gentleman who put out the piece against the department and the levy, the real truth of what was said, and what he said, is public record at the Evergreen Fire Hall and I encourage you all to go look at it. Example: That 3 percent annual raise written into the levy? That was HIS idea! It seems to be a “bait and switch,” knowing it was something he could write about later as a negative topic. To quote his own words: “I’m going to say the ‘3 percent’ exists because it’s a fairly good long-term inflationary number to utilize. Inflation will bounce above and beyond that over short periods of time but for long-term, 3 percent is a good planning tool.”

The “advisory committee” that he stated was “developed internally, with a presentation to a couple of community members,” is very misleading. Prior to my running for the fire board, I, a 20 year fire/EMS provider, became part of this advisory committee, along with business owners, retirees, housewives, and a standard random slice of citizens, made up of taxpayers here in Evergreen. We met several different days for several hours at a time. At the end of our final meeting with the board, he was rife with displeasure that all remaining members of the board of trustees and ALL members of the citizen community, were all voting “yes.” He talks about it being done for less, but when asked how, and how this levy would be satisfactory to him, he stated that there wasn’t enough time allotted. He neglects to mention that he, and the rest of the board, had the proposal for FOUR MONTHS PRIOR to the night the fire board voted 4-1 YES, on putting the levy on the ballot. Once again, this is all public record so don’t take my or his words for it; do your due diligence and go see these meeting minutes for yourselves.

In fact, ask those who are fire/medical providers in other districts if investing in ones’ fire/EMS district is a good idea. Not asking those who haven’t done the jobs comes with an inherent risk of getting bad information. It would be like asking someone who works in a bakery about the airline industry; sure, he can tell you how to make good bread, but should you really trust him to fly you and your family safely at 27,000 feet without fully knowing the working knowledge of aircraft and aeronautics?

Please vote “Yes” April 10 for the approval of the Evergreen fire levy. Support these real-life heroes whose job it is to sacrifice so much in their lives, some even paying the ultimate price, to try and save you, your property, and those whom you care for and love. It truly could be a matter of life and death here in the district!

Brodie Verworn is a resident of Evergreen.