Board approves hiring firefighter/EMT

SEELEY LAKE – After no interest in the firefighter/paramedic position previously posted, Seeley Lake Fire Chief Dave Lane requested at the May 17 meeting that the Fire Board consider approving a firefighter/EMT (FF/EMT) position. He has an interested candidate. The Board held a special meeting May 20 and unanimously approved the position.

At the regular board meeting, Lane advised he felt the District was offering a competitive wage for the firefighter/paramedic position. However, housing is an issue and many other departments are facing similar challenges with fewer applicants than normal.

Lane said he has a qualified applicant for the FF/EMT position that lives close enough to be considered local. The $12,000 saving not hiring a paramedic could be used to pay for the EMT to attend paramedic school following the probation period.

Seeley Lake Captain John Baker just started his prerequisites to attend paramedic school. Lane expects the program to take 16-18 months to complete. The 2022-2023 budget includes funding for part of Baker's education.

"If we were getting paramedic applications this wouldn't be an issue," Lane said. "I'm trying to come up with a solution to get us more [Advanced Life Support] coverage for the District."

At the special meeting May 20, Lane provided additional information about the applicant who applied last December and is still interested. He is a former member of the Florence Fire Department, is a current EMT and currently works with the prison and is a security officer at St. Patrick's Hospital. He is working with the state fire marshal to get his Firefighter 1 (FF1) certification and wants to get his Firefighter 2 (FF2) certification. However, since he is not affiliated with a department, he is having a hard time getting into a paramedic program.

The paramedic program would cost $15,000 for the required 1,200 hours. The program is a 16-month program. This applicant has some of the pre-requisites completed for the program.

The FF/EMT position would start at $35,114. If the applicant got his FF2, his salary would increase to $37,814.

Vice Chair Gary Lewis asked why this position was not offered to Baker.

Lane said that Baker didn't want to work full time, he is retired and is happy being a volunteer.

Lane said he wants to keep the wage competitive because the District cannot legally require an employee to try with the District for any length of time after they have invested in their training. He told the Board he has an incentive program that would give percentage increases up to four percent for different types of endorsements and trainings completed.

"My hope is that someday, years down the road, maybe this person will have enough education and training to be my replacement [if they want to]," Lane said. "It is always my hope that people are in a better spot when I leave than when I got here."

In other business:

• The District Administrative Assistant gave her notice. The position has been advertised and Lane said they have already received interest.

• In correspondence, Dick Seale donated a "Snow Cat" to the District.

• Lane reported that the District's utility trailer collapsed this winter. The insurance company totaled the trailer. Lane said he will discuss with the board next month about replacing it as he would like to use it for instant/event support.

• Volunteer Steve Lamour passed his National EMT certification.

• The board did the first read of the 2022-2023 budget.

• At the May 20 meeting Jon Kimble was sworn in and officers were elected: Scott Kennedy, Chair; Gary Lewis, Vice Chair and Rita Rossi, Secretary

Public Comment May 17 meeting

Several members of the public commented at the May 17 board meeting. Each member of the public was allowed one opportunity to speak. The board provided no response.

In response to the information provided by Kennedy and printed in the March 24, 2022 Pathfinder article "Seeley ambulance rates nearly doubled to fund more services," Alyssa McLean said she was frustrated to learn that both ambulances were sent to town the night of her accident in October 2021.

"I could have been transferred to someone [with] advanced life support, not leaving our town without any [ambulance] for two hours or however long it takes," McLean said.

McLean also asked if it was prudent to discuss her call after the meeting in small groups or print her name as a patient in the response.

She asked the Board if Kennedy consulted them before making public statements on their behalf. She also asked how often both ambulances are sent to Missoula leaving town without one.

"As a member of the public, I would just caution you guys, before you vote him chairman of the board again to just take some pause and think about it," McLean said.

Kristy Pohlman told the Board she was disappointed that they doubled the ambulance rates without the proper research. She said the rates were raised under past Chief Bob Vanden Heuvel to cover an increase in PCOC incentive for responders.

Pohlman also challenged the comment made at the March meeting by a volunteer that stated they were running five to 10 calls per day in the summer and personnel are exhausted. This would mean the department was running 450-900 calls in three months.

Pohlman said this would be like Frenchtown Fire who runs an average of 750 calls. They have seven paid fire fighters, four of which are lieutenants, and a paid chief and district administrator. They charge $775 for a Basic Life Support call and $875 for an Advanced Life Support (ALS) call with no designation for ALS 1 or ALS 2 and their mileage is $16.50 per mile.

"It still just blows my mind that you so easily accept the information without doing any research," Pohlman said. "I really feel like you did not do your due diligence to our community."

Pohlman stated that since last March 2021, four regular board meetings have been canceled due to a lack of quorum. She also pointed out that at the March meeting there were two requests for agenda items, McLean's request to discuss her accident with the board and Pohlman's request to discuss creating a strategic plan, neither of which were on the agenda.

"These are things that make me further question things within this department and on this board," Pohlman said.

Shirley Goudzwaard brought some concerns. She was bothered by McLean's ordeal that she shared at the March meeting. She was shocked to learn that no C-collar was applied and she was allowed to walk to the stretcher with three broken limbs and in shock. Why did this happen?

She asked if simulated accidents are done for the EMTs at least every few months? If they are not, why not?

"You need to practice continuously," Goudzwaard said.

"This is a prime example of why it should be done," Goudzwaard said. "I'm very disappointed in how she was treated and she never should have been transported by our ambulance in my opinion. The care of the patient comes before anything."

Goudzwaard said she is a retired nurse and requested her questions be addressed at the next board meeting in public, not in private.

Pathfinder reporter Andi Bourne asked the board to explain how community concerns about operations can be addressed. McLean, from her statements in March, followed the chain of command outlined by the board at the March meeting, yet she was not on the agenda. Even though the board is an administrative board and delegates operational authority to the chief, the Board is the community's elected officials and are the chief's supervisor.

Jeff McLean questioned the conflict of interest of volunteers serving on the board.

"You are the supervisor of the ...person you have put in charge of operations and then you are subordinate of that person as well," McLean said. "I just wonder if you feel there is a conflict of interest in that?"

Department Captain John Baker said the comparison between Seeley Lake and other departments needs to stop. He feels the departments are run differently, they have different tax bases and they have different needs.

"Those type of attacks we need to find common ground and get this department the way the public wants it," Baker said.

He said he takes the attacks on the department personally. He told Goudzwaard that it is not fair that the public can attack the department and they can't provide a rebuttal due to HIPPA laws.

"If we are going to continue to attack the board and the department we are not going to get anywhere," Baker said.

Kennedy spoke during public comment, making it clear his comments were separate from the rest of the board. He said that McLean is not well informed about the various medical procedures, protocols or guidelines and those followed at the department. He said the scars McLean showed at the March meeting that allegedly were from the car accident, were not the result of the care provided or the fault of the responders.

He said the District gives at least 48 hours notice for all actionable agenda items. The District Administrator apologized for the error that was pointed out regarding the late February meeting notice and was acknowledged by Vice Chair Gary Lewis who was acting chair of the meeting. Discussion did occur but action items were tabled.

Regarding his statement published in the March 24, 2022 Pathfinder article "Seeley ambulance rates nearly doubled to fund more services," Kennedy said the information was reviewed by Lane for accuracy and Lewis also reviewed.

Kennedy said there is extensive time and review as necessary of all ideas, proposal and the advancement of fire and ambulance services that are properly noticed and discussed at all board meetings and included in the local Pathfinder. Additionally, the public can get information from the website and at the District office.

"Alyssa fails to research or solicit the other sides of her concerns formulating her own opinion, perhaps misguided, that has been derogatory, critical, demeaning, disrespectful, insulting to District and individuals, dramatizing and embellishing the facts, wanting people to resign, get fired and so forth," Kennedy said. "Alyssa points fingers at the board members again and the volunteers in her statements. This negativism has been ongoing ever since she started attending the board meetings and running for the board. Now we are in search of a new district administrative assistant due to this ongoing derogatory behavior affecting the District."

Kennedy encouraged the board, staff and volunteers to move forward in spite of "these distractions." Kennedy complimented all District personnel paid and volunteer for their service and thanked the community for their ongoing support.

"Our District operations are running smoothly considering the challenges," Kennedy said. "Though we have the same challenges as any other department across the country and a few challenges with a few misguided individuals, I'm going to continue to represent the District to the best of my abilities."

Since McLean had already commented, she was not allowed to respond. Her response is printed as a letter to the editor "Question the District leadership" starting on page 2.

The next meeting is scheduled for June 21 at 6 p.m. at the Seeley Lake Fire Hall, 200 Firehouse Lane. The agenda will be posted at seeleyfire.org.