Fire board to hire consultant

BIG ARM - The Polson Rural Fire Board re-approved the junior firefighters program during its monthly meeting held last Wednesday.

The program has been in place for approximately a year and a half, but trustees Paul Laisy and chairwoman Alison Meslin expressed some concerns over having young adults 16 and 17-years-old participating in high-risk situations.

Laisy said he worried about the youngsters driving to the fire station while responding to a call and he wanted a veteran firefighter to be assigned to keep an eye on and help the juniors. He said that a statistic he'd read showed that 20 percent of firefighter deaths occur while driving to or from the station during a call and that young drivers inexperience could be trouble.

"If those things are under control, I could support the junior firefighter program," Laisy said.

Polson Fire Chief John Fairchild assured Laisy that the juniors are assigned to an officer and are not allowed to respond directly to a scene. Many of the tasks they complete are relatively minor, he said.

Meslin voiced concern over the amount of training time each junior receives before they are allowed to respond to scenes and participate more fully. She originally asked that the kids have at least one year of training before responding.

"There is a long period before they become active," trustee Jack Clapp said, noting that many of the juniors are actually offspring of current firefighters.

The board asked that the juniors complete the task book before responding, which Fairchild said takes approximately six months.

"We spend a lot of time with them because we want them to become a valuable asset, which they are," Fairchild said.

Meslin decided to approve the program, as long as a stipulation is included that the junior "must have six months training and/or be signed off by the Chief" to respond to calls.

In other news, trustee Jim Manley reported back to the board his thoughts on the second Polson Area Fire Stakeholders group meeting, held on Feb. 24. He said he thinks it is worthwhile, but that he doesn't think it will work without the whole rural fire board present. He said he wouldn't mind having it run as an open meeting, something Polson City Manager Todd Crossett was attempting to avoid by limiting the number of fire board trustees present.

"As it is presently constituted, I don't think it will work," Manley said.

Trustee Meslin and Laisy said they would attend the meeting if it were opened to all rural fire board members.

While the Fairgrounds Station is still transitioning into full-time use, Manley proposed hiring a consultant to find out the most efficient use for the station. He said the fire board is getting inconsistent information about what is the best use, and thinks an independent evaluation will help. Manley said he had already talked to Scott Walgren, a "highly recommended" consultant, about doing the study. He said he'd hire Walgren to do some background work and find the cost of the study, and then leave it up to the board to decide whether to hire him next meeting. Manley said he'd "be responsible" for the cost of the background work if the board decides not to hire Walgren. The motion passed 3-1, with only trustee Jack Clapp dissenting.

At the beginning of the meeting, Polson firefighter Chris McGuiness showed a video recapping the year of work the different departments had participated in. The video, which was first shown at the Firefighters Ball on March 6, mixed video and a photo slideshow to showcase different responses area rescuers had participated in. Highlighted was a June 2009 water rescue and the response from different agencies after a man jumped off Polson's Armed Forces Memorial Bridge in January.

The trustees also discussed the final preparations for the Fairgrounds Station open house, which was held last Saturday. After the event, Chief Fairchild said it was a success, with a steady stream of visitors all day.