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Butte–Silver Bow fire director urges unified command, proposes new training and liaison roles
Summary
Zach Osborne, Director of Fire Services, submitted a detailed letter to the study commission advocating a unified command and consistent standards for career and volunteer firefighters, describing tradeoffs between two charter options and proposing job descriptions for an Assistant Chief of Training and a Volunteer Fire Coordinator.
Zach Osborne, Director of Fire Services and Fire Chief, submitted a written statement to the Butte–Silver Bow Study Commission emphasizing firefighter safety and urging adoption of a unified command structure and consistent standards for career and volunteer firefighters across Silver Bow County.
"Every firefighter must go home safe after every call," Osborne wrote, arguing that unified command, coordinated training and equal standards for career and volunteer firefighters reduce confusion, prevent freelancing, and enhance safety. He said modern fire operations are more hazardous and require standardized training, medical evaluations and SCBA fit testing for all personnel.
Osborne described two ballot options under consideration: Option 1 would remove Butte volunteer departments from the Butte–Silver Bow charter and, he wrote, is administratively workable but could produce litigation over property and equipment ownership and would not guarantee operational cohesion. Option 2 would retain integration and he recommended it as the stronger path toward coordinated operations and clear accountability.
He outlined organizational proposals should Option 2 proceed, including creating an Assistant Chief of Training and Operations to oversee unified training and an official Volunteer Fire Coordinator (VFC) to serve as the single liaison between volunteer membership and the Career Fire Chief. Osborne said these roles would improve training, accountability and communications without creating independent incident command authority for volunteers.
Osborne also described budget context, noting the sunsetting of a TIFID fund at the end of 2022 reduced available Fire Services funding (he said the fund previously held approximately $3.8 million). He discussed operational impacts if Option 1 passes (fewer vehicles and station structures in county oversight, potentially reduced maintenance workload) but warned that Option 1 could leave command ambiguity at incidents and increase liability exposure.
Attachments included full job descriptions, adoptable policy text for a Volunteer Fire Coordinator, and template forms for elections, issue tracking and reporting. The commission received the materials and will review them at a future meeting.
