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Rural Fire District warns of staffing squeeze after volunteer coordinator grant lapsed
Summary
At the April 28 Red Lodge Public Health & Safety meeting, the Rural Fire District reported rising call volume and warned the district no longer has grant funding for its volunteer coordinator, a post officials say is important to recruit and retain volunteers.
At a Red Lodge City Council Public Health & Safety meeting on April 28, the Rural Fire District representative warned that rising calls and the loss of grant funding for a volunteer coordinator are straining the district’s ability to recruit and retain volunteers.
The district’s representative, identified in the meeting as the Fire Chief, said volunteer recruitment and active participation are the top short-term concerns after the volunteer coordinator position previously supported by a grant ended its performance period in December and the funding ran out in June. "Not having a volunteer coordinator position could have significant impacts for us long term as we move forward," the Fire Chief said.
The chief gave staffing and membership details: the search-and-rescue team has about 46 members and total volunteer membership is above 120, figures the chief described as high but increasingly difficult to manage because many volunteers are not regularly active. The district also reported a roughly 100-call increase year-to-date, to about 700 calls so far this year.
On funding, the chief said the district bills for EMS responses but reimbursement varies: fully insured patients may generate full reimbursement, Medicaid yields a small fraction of billed charges and uninsured patients may produce no revenue. The chief explained the district applied last year for a grant to fund the volunteer coordinator but did not receive it; the grant was described as administered through fire administration and tied to Department of Homeland Security funding streams.
Officials cautioned that aging equipment and the cost of maintaining capital can depress volunteer morale. The chief said the district had improved equipment in the past but is again seeing equipment age, which increases training and replacement costs and can discourage volunteers from continuing.
The chief said the district will reapply for grant opportunities when they reopen and is looking for ways to disperse coordinator duties across staff while pursuing funding. An oversight committee (with city and county representation) will continue to receive and share mid-month reports with the council, the liaison said.
Next steps: the district will pursue future grant cycles for staffing, continue training cohorts and work with the council liaison to keep the public and council updated on recruitment and budget developments.
