District receives $76,000+ in grants, recognizes volunteers

SEELEY LAKE – Seeley Lake Fire Chief Dave Lane announced at the monthly Fire Board meeting Dec. 15 that the District received more than $76,000 in grants this past month. He also recognized volunteers for multiple years of service.

Lane said the Department received a Rural Fire Capacity (RFC) grant for $2,800 through the Montana Department of Natural Resources.

The RFC Program assists rural volunteer fire departments by providing cost-share grants for training, equipping and organizing. The grants are funded federally through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and administered by the DNRC.

Lane told the board the Department will purchase two floating pumps to outfit the wildland fire engines with the grant.

The District also received a grant through the state CARES Act funds for nearly $74,000 that will be used to purchase a Power Load lift and Power Pro gurney for the second ambulance and a Life Pack 15 monitor.

In an email following the meeting, Lane explained he applied for a pre-authorization for reimbursement of purchasing equipment through MACo. 

"MACo is an advocacy group for counties in Montana and has been instrumental with other agencies to gain their reimbursement pre-authorization.  Our reimbursement will come from Missoula County," wrote Lane.

Some of the stipulations to qualify for the reimbursement included the equipment must be COVID-19 related and be in operation by Dec. 30.

However, Lane said due to COVID affecting manufacturing production, it was impossible to have the new purchases operational by the end of the month. On Dec. 13 the Governor's office advised MACo that the deadline had been extended to Jan. 22, a deadline the Department can meet.

In the email, Lane said the new equipment was prioritized by cost and need. The Power Load and Power Pro cot greatly reduce lifting injuries to the volunteers, in addition to helping with distancing from a potential infectious disease such as COVID-19. This equipment is already installed on the first out ambulance. The Life Pack 15 will replace the Department's obsolete Life Pack 12.

Due to receiving the CARES Act funding that will cover the Life Pack 15 monitor, Lane requested the Board allow him to redirect funds made from the Cinnebar fire to purchase six new sets of turnouts and resurfacing the bay floors at Station 1. He estimated it would cost $5,600 to redo the bay floors and between $2,200-$2,400 to replace the turnouts. This will complete the replacement of all the older turnouts for all the members.

The board approved it unanimously.

Lane explained in an email following the meeting that this summer the Department sent a water tender to the Cinnabar fire for two weeks with operator John Baker. The District made more than $20,000 from the assignment.

Lane recognized volunteers Angie Kelley and Kyle Zumwalt for their commitment to the Department. Zumwalt has served with the Department for five years and Kelley has volunteered for 10 years. They each received a patch to sew onto the sleeve of their uniform recognizing this service milestone.

"Thank you both for your service," said Lane. "You have many more years to go."

The next Fire Board meeting will be at 6 p.m. Jan. 19 at the Seeley Lake Fire Hall. For more information and the agenda visit seeleyfire.org.