FAQ's

Frequently Asked Questions

How many people make up an ambulance crew?

A full ambulance crew consists of three people. One ALS provider, a driver, and another crewmember to assist with patient care. Though we can operate with a crew of two, we strive for full crews in order to provide the best care possible to our patients. On occasion there may be a fourth crew member, who is normally a new recruit or EMT student observing as part of their training program.

I’ve seen RLFR vehicles in other cities in the state, why?

Our ambulances do a fair number of interfacility transports from our local hospital to more advanced hospitals. If you see a RLFR ambulance in another city, this is almost certainly what is occurring. On occasion, our ambulances have to go to Billings for mechanical service as well. Other vehicles such as command / support vehicles are used to transport department members to trainings and meetings in other cities, as well as other department-related duties such as dropping off or picking up equipment that cannot be serviced locally.

When I called for an ambulance, why did another vehicle show up first?

We operate with a 2-part response system for medical emergencies. The on-duty paramedic / ALS provider is the first to respond, usually in the medical quick response vehicle. The on-call EMT’s then respond from home or work to the station and pick up the ambulance and respond to the scene. This response system ensures that we get emergency medical personnel on scene quickly to begin administering care.

Are there any paid personnel on the department?

Yes. There are five full-time employees that work for Red Lodge Fire Rescue out of our close to 90 members. The paid staff perform various administration duties, all but one are also certified advanced-life-support EMS providers. One full-time staff member holds the position of volunteer coordinator, which is a grant-funded position. Each paid staff member has a variety of duties that they perform in order to support our volunteer members and keep the department operating smoothly.

Do you give station tours?

Yes. We enjoy giving tours of the station and our equipment to the public, as well as answering any questions that people may have. Feel free to drop by the station. To ensure someone will be here, it is recommended you call ahead at 446-2320.

Do you allow people to ride-along on the ambulance?

Due to the confidential nature of dealing with people’s medical emergencies, we do not allow the general public to ride along on the ambulance. Only department personnel and EMT students are permitted. If you are interested in becoming an EMT, we will gladly show you our equipment and visit with you about what we do.

How many members do you have?

We have around 90 members on our department. Some members perform only EMS duties, some only fire duties, and of course, some perform both fire and EMS duties.

Are your members truly volunteer, or do they receive some stipend pay?

Because we run far more medical calls than fire, and these calls can often last multiple hours (especially interfacility transports) our volunteer EMT’s do receive a stipend for their time. They are paid a flat rate per 911 medical call or transfer. Our firefighters are entirely volunteer.

Are your trainings open to the public?

This depends on the type of training that they wish to attend. For safety reasons, only our members are allowed to participate in trainings such as live fire training, but allowing people from outside the department to attend EMS training for CE hours is considered on a case-by-case basis. .

Why are there search and rescue vehicles at the fire station?

We recently contracted with the Carbon County Sheriff’s Department to oversee the operations of our county’s search and rescue unit. The sheriff has overall responsibility for CCSAR, but since many of the SAR members are also EMT’s and firefighters with RLFR, it made sense to merge SAR into RLFR. Together, SAR and RLFR are working to enhance our personnel’s capabilities, such as a newly-formed technical rescue team.