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Missoula council expands firefighter residency zone to 60 road miles
Summary
The City Council unanimously approved an ordinance Oct. 6 amending Missoula Municipal Code Section 2.8.03 to require firefighters to live either in city limits or within 60 road miles of a Missoula fire station, replacing a 45-minute/city-limits standard and reducing chief discretion.
The Missoula City Council voted unanimously Oct. 6 to amend the city code so that every person employed as a Missoula firefighter must reside in the city or within a 60 road‑mile radius of a Missoula fire station.
The change, to Missoula Municipal Code Section 2.8.03, replaces the previous residency standard — written as 45 minutes or city limits with considerable fire‑chief discretion — with a fixed 60 road‑mile measurement determined using Google Maps. The council’s motion was made by the chair of the Public Health & Safety Committee and approved by voice vote.
Chief Lonnie Rash told council the change was developed in consultation with the firefighter bargaining unit (Local 271). He said the wider radius will “allow our members an opportunity for more choice in the residency lifestyle” and broaden the recruitment area as the city grows.
Rash presented data on current member locations: about 90% of firefighters live within 15 minutes of city limits, 7.5% live between 15 and 30 minutes, and 25 members live 30 to 45 minutes from the city. He said none of the current members lived 45–60 minutes away because the rule had not been changed previously. On callback performance — the practice of calling off‑duty staff back during long incidents — Rash said the department recorded 29 callbacks recently; about 98.3% were filled to the requested staffing level, with only two callbacks underfilled by one position.
Councilor Gwen asked how the city would respond if callbacks were not being met under the new rule. Rash said the department would monitor the data and, if necessary, could negotiate mandatory callback provisions with the bargaining unit to ensure staffing reliability.
Council President Sherrill called a voice vote after brief council discussion. The ordinance passed unanimously. The amendment takes effect under the timeline for passage of city ordinances and will be implemented by the Fire Department and Human Resources as described in the staff report.
Council materials say the distance will be measured by Google Maps and that the change aligns Missoula with a 60‑mile standard recently adopted by the Missoula Police Department.
The council did not direct additional action beyond adoption; Chief Rash and staff will monitor callback performance as discussed.
