Columbia Falls' first paid firefighters look forward to serving community

The Columbia Falls Fire Department saw a historic milestone at the end of 2022, welcoming its first-ever paid firefighting force.

Dec. 27 marked the first day on the job for Jade Thomas, Ryan Smith and Brad Peterson. The three all have extensive experience as volunteers with the department.

Peterson has 24 years with the department and was the assistant chief before taking one of the paid positions. Smith has been with the department for 13 years and Thomas two years, but also worked as a wildland firefighter with the Forest Service for six years.

Peterson joined the force when fellow firefighter and neighbor Ed Perkins invited him on a call.

“I went with him and got hooked,” Peterson recalled in a recent interview.

Smith’s interest in firefighting came from his father, Joe, who served 36 years with the department. Joe Smith passed away in June. Ryan Smith recalled going on calls with his dad, sitting in the truck as his father fought blazes.

Thomas joined the force after a fire call to her own home — the basement had filled with smoke. As firefighters checked the house and cleared the smoke, Thomas struck up a conversation as she wanted to get more calls in as an emergency medical technician. She later joined as a volunteer.

All three said they greatly enjoy being firefighters as volunteers, so transitioning to paid staff has been a career goal.

Peterson and Smith were co-workers in their previous job working in the boiler plant at F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber.

All three have had memorable calls over the years. Peterson said one of the most memorable was one of his earliest — when a rock fell off the Going-to-the-Sun Road and killed the driver of a car, but left the victim’s wife, who was sitting next to him, almost unscathed.

Smith said one of his most memorable calls was a wildland fire in Browning a few years back in the winter. They shipped railcars full of water filled in Columbia Falls to fight the blaze near town.

Browning had no water left — they had used it all to fight the blaze.

“You couldn’t get a cup of coffee at Town Pump,” he recalled.

Another memorable call for Peterson and Smith was when the high school caught on fire in the summer. Firefighters contained the blaze to the foyer. Peterson remembered other schools at the time had lost entire buildings, so it felt good to save the school.

Thomas said one of her most memorable calls was a a head-on collision on Montana 206. She said she was able to utilize all her training and put it to practice.

“It was a really cool feeling,” she said.

The city is financing two of the paid positions through its 3% resort tax. The third position is funded through the rural fire department.

While the firefighters will work normal daytime shifts, they’ll also respond to after-hours fire calls in district or if there’s a second page out of district.

Volunteers remain critical to force, they noted. All three said they look forward to working with the volunteers.

The department is in good shape with volunteers, Chief Karl Weeks said. It currently has 25.

But the city also needs full-time help as the volume of calls increases, especially in the summer months when the tourist traffic arrives. With three paid staffers, they can man a truck and be out the door in minutes on a call, be it a fire, accident, or other emergency.

In December alone, the department saw 57 calls for service.

Peterson recalled a call just the other day when a woman had a gas leak at her home. Firefighters cleared the home of gas and she was able to get back inside without having to find a place to stay.

“It’s pretty rewarding,” he said.