Rural fire board mulls creation of its own department

Board members for the Whitefish Fire Service Area are considering the option of setting up their own volunteer rural fire department, as opposed to renegotiating a new contract with the Whitefish Fire Department.

The Whitefish Fire Service Area board would need to negotiate a new five-year agreement with the Whitefish Fire Department, which provides services to households in the Service Area boundaries. But in a May 1 to constituents, the board expressed concern over fee increases.

“We are concerned,” the board’s letter states, “that the 6% per year increase Whitefish has proposed is unreasonable and not reflective of the long-term sustainable partnership this type of utility requires.”

The city of Whitefish is proposing an annual fee agreement of $326,000 in 2021, rising to $426,500 in 2026. However, the Fire Service Area makes up about 40% of calls each year received by the Whitefish Fire Department, yet currently pays just 27% of the $1.17 million budget. By 2026, that would rise to 36% of that year’s budget.

Five years ago, the Fire Service Area board raised annual fees from $90 to $144. These fees would more than cover what the city is asking for by 2026.

But instead of paying these fees, the board states it could establish a volunteer fire department with a paid fire chief, using the fire hall the Service Area owns at the intersection of Hodgson and Whitefish Stage roads. It expects “sufficient savings” from operating the volunteer fire department will allow it to acquire a new fire hall west of Whitefish “in the next few years.”

The letter states the new department would need 10 to 15 volunteers. “Based on the experiences of other volunteer fire departments throughout the Valley, we believe this is easily achievable,” it says.

The Whitefish Fire Service Area runs south of Whitefish to Hodgson Road; east to the Whitefish River south of Montana 40 and into land north and south of Edgewood Drive; west to Farm to Market Road; and north to the north end of Whitefish Lake. These boundaries are all approximate.

SIX DAYS later, the city sent its own letter to Whitefish Fire Service Area households, calling some of the information in the board’s letter “bothersome.”

Whitefish City Manager Dana Smith and Fire Chief Joe Page both signed off on the city’s letter.

“Like any other business, operating and equipment costs continue to rise even as we try to find efficiencies in our operations and maintain equipment through the end of its useful life,” the city’s letter states. “While the WFSA has contributed equipment to the City in the past and funded a portion of our newer equipment, the City is still facing an aging fleet and the generous donations made by the WFSA are not required by the agreement.”

Smith said she had a meeting on March 5 with members of the board, and emailed the city’s official proposal to the board on March 13. She never received a response – “I just assumed it was due to COVID, so it wasn’t a significant priority,” she said – until Page brought her a copy of the board’s letter.

“We decided a response was necessary because the [board’s] letter did not provide the context of our proposal,” Smith said.

Smith said a volunteer fire department would not be able to match the response time of the Whitefish Fire Department.

“We have a paid, career fire department with a high response time,” she said. “Our guys and girls ... are out the door within 90 seconds.”

The Whitefish Fire Department has 17 career professional firefighters who are also trained paramedics, seven volunteers and one part-time EMT.

MEANWHILE, FOR volunteer departments, Smith said, it could take “20-30 minutes” for individuals to arrive at the station from work or home, put on equipment and head to the emergency.

And while the Whitefish Fire Department is in a “pretty centered” location for the Whitefish Fire Service Area, the Whitefish Stage Road location is on the far southern end of the Service Area, potentially lowering response times even more.

Ed Lieser, who lives on Lion Mountain and is a former state representative and Whitefish Fire Service Area board member, said they would be “giving up a lot” if they pursue a volunteer fire department.

The response time to any emergency at his house would increase substantially, even if they were to build a new fire hall west of Whitefish, Lieser said.

He said he knows the difficulties of recruiting and keeping volunteers based on his experience on the board, and maintaining a volunteer fire department “causes me a great deal of concern.”

He added that it’s difficult to assess the board’s proposal in such a short amount of time. He did not receive the board’s letter until May 6, and they are hoping to make a decision by June.

“For a decision this consequential, that’s not a lot of time for people to understand,” Lieser said. “I have experience and background in fire suppression ... even with that kind of background it’s difficult to evaluate their proposal.”

Lieser said his “hope and plea” is that the board will negotiate with the city.

He said for the board to contemplate moving out of the city without negotiating with the city, “quite frankly that’s irresponsible” while a volunteer department is an “unreasonable concession.”

The board says it needs to make a decision by June. Households can attend the next board meeting on Tuesday, May 19, at 6:30 p.m. at the fire hall on the corner of Whitefish Stage and Hodgson Road or send their comments to jdyonwfsa@gmail.com.

Service Area Board member Mark Carlson told the Inter Lake he is not commenting on the issue. Calls to the other board members were not returned.

Reporter Colin Gaiser may be reached at cgaiser@dailyinterlake.com