Rural Fire District, Council conduct annual meeting

The Three Forks Rural Fire Department and City Council conducted their annual joint Special Meeting last week.

In a report on the interlocal agreement between the two entities, Fire Chief Keith Aune reported they currently sitting at 19 volunteers. The current agreement has a limit of 28 firefighters.

Aune said in 2022, they responded to 186 calls, a lower number than in 2021. He added the calls were mainly out of town.

“We were down, but that’s a good thing,” he said.

Emergency Medical Response (EMR) training for volunteers was also discussed.

Aune said they are trying to get an EMR class for the firefighters and currently have nine signed up for a $1,000 course. He added the class would put a lot on the plates of volunteers by adding 40 to 50 hours of medical training on top of the 30 hours of yearly fire training.

Aune said if they ask firefighters to go to medical calls, the number they respond to will increase from 186 to 400 or 500.

In the discussion on emergency services in Southern Broadwater County, Aune discussed the possibility of having fire services in the area.

Aune said they currently have five firefighters living in the southern end of the county, and it would be better for those living in the area. He added they had lost the services of three firefighters in three years because they could not get into town in time to make the calls.

Regarding volunteers in the area, Aune noted they might see more volunteers from southern Broadwater County.

“If you build it, they will come,” he said.