Missoula approves 60‑mile residency rule for city firefighters

Missoula City Council on Oct. 6 approved an ordinance amending Missoula Municipal Code section 2.8.03 to require every person employed by the city as a firefighter to reside either within the City of Missoula or within 60 road miles of any City of Missoula fire station, a distance to be measured using Google Maps.

Fire Chief Lonnie Rasch told council the change replaces the department’s prior 45‑minute rule and reduces discretionary decision‑making by the fire chief; he said the proposed 60‑road‑mile standard aligns the fire department with a recently adopted 60‑mile residency requirement for the Missoula Police Department, expands the recruitment area and addresses callback expectations during long‑duration incidents.

Why it matters: The change expands where city firefighters may live and is intended to broaden recruitment options while preserving the expectation that personnel will respond to callbacks for extended incidents. Chief Rasch presented callback statistics and residency data to support the change.

Details from the presentation and discussion

- Current residency profile: Chief Rasch reported roughly 90% of department members live within 15 minutes of city limits, 7.5% live 15–30 minutes out, 2.5% live 30–45 minutes out and no members currently live in a 45–60‑minute band under the existing rule.

- Callback performance: During a one‑year review the department had 29 callbacks; Rasch said 98.3% of requested callback positions were filled and 100% of callbacks were staffed, although two callbacks returned fewer personnel than requested in order to meet engine company staffing requirements.

- Enforcement and future options: Council members asked how the city would respond if callback compliance declined. Chief Rasch said there is no current mandatory requirement to return for callbacks but that the city could explore a mandatory callback agreement with the bargaining unit if needed in the future.

Public process and vote

- The proposal was the subject of a public hearing; no members of the public spoke in favor or opposition during the hearing on Oct. 6.

- The chair of the Public Health & Safety Committee moved to adopt the ordinance as presented. Council took a voice vote and the motion passed unanimously.

What the ordinance says

- The amended language requires every individual employed by the city as a firefighter and represented by the bargaining unit to live within the City of Missoula or within 60 road miles of any city fire station, with the distance determined by a defined metric (Google Maps driving distance), removing discretionary time‑based measures and reducing chief discretion.

Next steps

- The ordinance change is effective on adoption; the city will continue to monitor callback staffing and residency metrics and may consider bargaining or rule adjustments if callback performance changes.