Short-term fix to long-term problem in fire service area

Those of us living in Whitefish and the surrounding area are fortunate to have a good fire department. Chief Cole Hadley and his staff provide excellent fire and EMS response. In our community we often see and hear the fire engine and ambulance responding to emergencies. Most people assume the same response will be available if they need it. That’s the challenge.

With our population increase, recent analysis of requests for service indicates the Whitefish Fire Department is busy responding to calls 40% of the time. On 194 occasions last year the fire department had no immediately available fire or EMS units if a new 911 call was received. 

At current staffing levels that means your request for service has a 40% chance it will be answered by a mutual aid response from Big Mountain, Columbia Falls or maybe West Valley or Kalispell fire departments, depending on call volume valleywide. 

Obviously a response from these other fire departments will take, at a minimum, 10-20 minutes longer. Whitefish Fire has the equipment necessary for a second response, trucks and ambulance, but lacks the personnel to operate them for a second response.

The board of the Whitefish Fire Service Area is currently attempting to provide funding to hire additional personnel at the Whitefish Fire Department to provide for a second response team.

The Whitefish Fire Service Area is approximately 75 square miles surrounding the city of Whitefish. The residents of this area are currently assessed a flat fee of $180/year for fire protection. 

The board of the Fire Service Area uses these funds to contract with the city of Whitefish to provide fire protection. This formal arrangement has been in place since 1989. The Whitefish Fire Service Area owns a Fire Hall at Hodgson Road and Whitefish Stage, but does not own any other firefighting equipment or have any personnel. 

During the past two years there has been increasing interest by residents of the Fire Service Area to improve the level of fire protection services. The ideal solution would be to build, equip and staff additional fire stations in the outlying areas. The hard fact is, with our current funding model there are not sufficient funds. A raise in the current $180 per year fees is necessary just to meet the increasing cost of the existing service contract that increases 4% a year. 

In the near term, the most cost effective way to provide additional fire protection, is to hire additional firefighters to man the underutilized equipment at Whitefish Fire. 

The long-term solution to increased fire protection in the Whitefish Fire Service Area is to change from a fire service area to a fire district. 

Whitefish Fire Service Area is one of only a few in the state. The majority of the state utilizes fire districts. The primary difference between service areas and districts is funding. Districts utilize the mill levy base. The number of mills assessed is determined by a vote of the residents. Fire service area funding is set by the county commissioners and is currently a flat fee for each occupied parcel.

For the past two years, There has been an ongoing effort by the Whitefish Fire Service Area Board to promote the petition required to change from service area to district. Response has been limited due to technical issues and challenges in communicating the details and need to our community.

Near term, the Whitefish Fire Service Area Board will be contacting the Flathead County Commissioners, requesting an increase in the annual $180 fee. The additional funding to be used to hire additional Whitefish Fire personnel and to explore the purchase of a property to build an additional fire hall.

This current request to the county commissioners is a short-term fix for a long-term challenge. For additional information on the petition or any other questions, contact whitefishfireservicearea.org.

David Kauffman is a Whitefish Fire Service Area board member.