RLFR News

Department News & Press Releases

February 21, 2010: EMS Recruit Academy Underway: A new EMS division recruit class is underway with five very promising new recruits. The recruits, Bonnie Ples, Jenn Legnini, Kathryn Kain and Ethan McDowell, are currently going through the EMS recruit academy, which consists of two full days of instruction in areas such as department policies / procedures, emergency vehicle operation, equipment familiarization, safety, infection control, and other vital topics to help them get off to a good start as new members of our department.

February 20, 2010: Ambulance Service Faces Challenges (Carbon County News): If an ambulance district is not formed in the next few months, Red Lodge is poised to see a significant reduction in the level of ambulance service provided to the community, or even a complete loss of ambulance service suggests Tom Kuntz, Red Lodge Fire Chief.

In the State of Montana, there is no legal requirement for any entity or government to provide ambulance service. It is the responsibility of the community to decide whether or not they want ambulance service and at what level.
Currently, the City of Red Lodge Fire Department provides the ambulance service to Red Lodge, Luther, Bearcreek and Roberts. However, the funding for the service comes primarily from the City of Red Lodge’s general fund and due to increases in the cost of providing medical care, Medicare cuts, and city budget limitations, the city council has indicated funding cannot continue at its current level. "A group of concerned community members are working to retain the service’s level of care by forming an ambulance district," said Kuntz.

If formed, the ambulance district would be a special district formed under Montana law and it would be funded by a $69 tax on developed residential and commercial properties. There would be no fee on vacant or agricultural land.
In just a few weeks almost half the 1,380 signatures necessary to form the district have been collected. “The response from the community has been incredible” says Deputy Chief Aaron McDowell. “Almost everyone we talk to is very supportive and sees the importance of forming the district.”

The primarily volunteer ambulance service answers approximately 500 requests for assistance each year and according to EMS Assistant Chief Kyle Starr, the calls range from critical heart conditions and motor vehicle accidents to elderly residents with less serious medical problems who may need assistance.

The Department has four ambulances, two in Red Lodge, one in Luther and one in Roberts. According to Starr, ambulances are kept for 20 years before they are replaced. “Our newest ambulance already has almost 70,000 miles on it.” said Starr “and it could be in service for another 16 years."

The service is staffed by more than 40 volunteers and three full time firefighter paramedics.
“We have an incredible group of dedicated volunteers who help people in our community every day” the services Medical Director Dr. Brad Fouts said. “And the advanced treatments our paramedics are trained to administer have proven to save lives again and again”

The services paramedics can provide include highly advanced airway management, medication administration including cardiac and pain medications and advanced trauma interventions.

“If this district is not formed, we will definitely have a crisis on our hands,” said Dr. Billy Oley, “it is critical for the people living here that we are able to keep the current level of ambulance care.”

“This is about our community deciding what level of ambulance service we should have available” said Kuntz. “Our research indicates that the community expects and appreciates, a quick ambulance response, the dedication of our volunteers, and the paramedic level care we currently provide.”

Organizers are collecting signatures this week at the Beartooth Market, and anyone with questions can call Aaron McDowell at 425-0853.

December 25, 2009: New Medic 71 In-Service: Today, a new Medic 71 was placed into service. The older vehicle, a 2004 Ford Explorer, was traded in for a 2010 Jeep Wrangler. The Explorer was beginning to become problematic with the heavy-duty use that it sees, and was going to be in need of costly repairs in the near future if left in-service. Eight other vehicles were looked at as options to replace it, and the Jeep turned out to be of the lesser expensive options. Another consideration with the selection of the Jeep is the terrain and weather that we have in our response area, which includes heavy snowfall, forest service roads and occasional off-road use. The new M71 has been equipped with emergency lighting and decals and was fully in-service today. Thank you to everyone who has contributed time to putting it into service.

November 21, 2009: Retirement: Captain Jeff Wilson recently retired from Red Lodge Fire Rescue after 24 years of volunteer service. Jeff was a tremendous asset to our department and it’s members, who benefited greatly from Jeff’s expertise, especially in the areas of technical rescue and vehicle extrication. We wish him and his family well in their new endeavors, they will be missed.

November 5, 2009: Voters Support Emergency Services: In yesterday’s election, Red Lodge voters approved allowing the City of Red Lodge the option to utilize revenue generated by the resort tax for the purchase of capital items for Fire, EMS and police. This gives the city another option, as in the past, city emergency services had to utilize their budget from the general fund to purchase capital items such as fire trucks, ambulances and police cars. Thank you to everyone who supported this ballot issue!

August 15, 2009: RLFR Responds to Gas Leak: At 1100 hrs on Friday, August 14th, RLFR personnel responded to a natural gas leak in the 400 block of South Adams. Residents around the immediate area of the incident were evacuated, and NW Energy was called in to fix the gas line. No fire, property damage or injuries resulted from the leak. RLFR had 19 personnel on-scene as well as 8 apparatus.

August 1, 2009: RLFR Team Participates in Cancer Climb: A team from Red Lodge Fire Rescue participated in the 2009 Climb to Conquer Cancer that was held at Red Lodge Mountain today. The event, sponsored by the American Cancer Society, is a great fund-raiser, and RLFR was proud to participate. RLFR members attending included Wanda Kennicott, Tammy Novakovich, Ruth Bilyeu, Melissa Rickbeil, Carole Salyer and Maggie Blevins.

July 31, 2009: Rocky Mountain Trauma Symposium: Red Lodge is honored to be hosting the Rocky Mountain Trauma Symposium Sept 17-18 at Rock Creek Resort. We hope that the visiting emergency services and medical personnel will take some time to stop in the fire station for a visit while they are in town. The men and women of RLFR are looking forward to having the conference in our community this year and extend a warm welcome to the attendees.

July 24, 2009: RLFR Responds to Wildland Fire: On the evening of July 23rd, RLFR personnel and apparatus responded to a wildland fire that was believed to be started by a lightning strike. The fire was approx 2-3 miles east of Bearcreek off of Hwy 308. The exact number of acres involved has not yet been released. Personnel from Red Lodge Fire Rescue and other regional agencies fought the blaze until early Friday AM. The fire was officially declared out on Friday afternoon. No injuries or property damage were reported.

July 24, 2009: Gym in-service in Red Lodge station: The new gym has been placed into service. While there is still some finishing work to be done, the project has progressed far enough to allow use of the workout equipment. The governing board of Rural Fire District #7 has approved securing a loan to allow us to finish out the sleeping quarters, conference room/misc. room, bathrooms, and the gym. Further work on the project will have to wait until adequate donation funds are received.

July 19, 2009: Beartooth Rally Keeps Crews Busy: RLFR crews from both fire and EMS divisions were kept busy this weekend with all the activities associated with the annual Beartooth Rally, a major motorcycle rally that brings in more than ten thousand motorcycle riders from around the country. Crews staffed special events and patrolled with our Polaris Ranger downtown during the evening/night hours. Between the hours of 6pm and 2am on Saturday the 18th, RLFR personnel responded to 5 medical calls and also performed numerous public assists such as giving directions and interacting with the public. Fortunately, there were no major injuries during the rally this year.

June 19, 2009: Funding of Ambulance Service Uncertain: The formation of an ambulance district is being considered as a way to fund the ALS ambulance service provided by Red Lodge Fire Rescue. More on this issue will be available in the near future.

June 19, 2009: Upstairs Construction Update: The construction on the upstairs of the fire station is progressing well. The walls have been textured and painted, and the carpet is on order. We are optimistic that the gym and at least one bedroom will be completed in the very near future. Funding for the project has run out, and we will have to put some of the finishing touches on hold until further donations / funding can be obtained.

June 7. 2009: Fire Recruit Academy: The 2009 RLFR fire recruit academy class is set to wrap up their training with the final fire ground operations (FGO) exercise on Wednesday, June 10th. The exercise is the culmination of their training and ties together everything they have learned over the past months.

June 5, 2009: Construction Update: The construction on the upstairs of the Red Lodge station is making significant progress. The sheetrock is installed, the texturing is complete, and the painting has begun. Carpet has been selected, and the gym should be in service in 2-3 weeks if all goes according to schedule. The project is being funded largely by donated funds, and will add a gym, full kitchen, shower/restroom facilities, and sleeping quarters to the upstairs of the station. Thank you to everyone who has contributed funds or time to the project.

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