Tag: TFS Fire Department

Community

Trego Civic Center Membership Now Open to all TFS Fire District

EntomologistJed

This past Friday evening (March 26, 2021), the Trego Civic Center had its annual meeting and membership drive.

Attendees received an update on the raffle, new board members were appointed, and the bylaws were amended to change the requirements for membership, opening it up to a much wider area. Now, anyone living in the TFS Fire District can become a member. Previously, membership had been restricted to residents of Montana School District 53 – Trego and Stryker.

There was a proposal from the North Valley Foodbank to use the Civic Center to achieve more efficient food distribution. Then, there was a discussion on maintenance of the hall. Finally, the evening concluded with suggestions for activities and fundraising that could take place at the hall.

New Board Members:

Two Positions were up for vote: those held by Lindy Smith and Donna Todd Lowery. Todd Swan (of the Trego Pub & General Store) and Erica Ness were voted in as their replacements.

Amended Bylaws:

*** Current Bylaws, under the membership eligibility section, state that to be a member you must live in or own property in Trego. *** We would like to amend that to state that to be a member you live in or own property in the TFS (Trego, Fortine, Stryker) fire district.”

The sheet handed out to attendees, stating the meeting agenda.

North Valley Foodbank:

Lauren Jarrold from North Valley Foodbank arrived to discuss a proposal to use the Civic Center as a satellite food pantry. Biweekly food distributions from the mobile food pantry at Trego have served an average of twice as many families than at Eureka. (Trego has an average of 100 families, peaking at 160 last fall. Eureka averages 50).

Having the Civic Center as a place where food could be stored, boxed, etc. could potentially increase the number of distribution times a month. It would also mean that someone with a sudden need for food assistance could call and get food, even if it wasn’t a set distribution day, without having to make a trip down to the Flathead.

Lauren also briefly spoke about the BackPack program, which North Valley Foodbank is assisting with, noting that the mobile pantry will be bringing the food up, and that the program is fully reimbursed by the state. She mentioned the possibility of continuing the program on into the summer months.

Maintenance Needs:

  • Repair of recent damage.
    (Upon further inspection, this appears to have been done by a raised vehicle. Yes, county vehicles parked nearby have been considered. Snow plows have not yet been examined).
    Ken Smith has volunteered to do the repairs.
  • Replacement of the current wood stove with a propane heater on hand.
    (This would substantially lower insurance costs, which are high due to the fire risk inherent in wood heating).
  • Hooking up a wonderful commercial propane stove that was donated.

Suggestions:

Later, talked turned to the future of the Civic Center, the need for fundraisers, and how to better serve the community. The consensus seemed to be that more events were needed, but that to make that happen, more volunteers would be needed as well.

Speaking of volunteers, that’s one way to earn membership. Like-kind service is acceptable instead of the membership fee; Otherwise, it’s a $25 fee per household.

Some suggestions for activities and fundraisers were:

  • Bringing back the Fireman’s Ball
    (this was mentioned at the TFS Fire Department Meeting as well)
  • T-shirts, mugs, and other little reminders of the Civic Center
  • Public Educational Talks by community members.
  • Science Fair (open to all kids, both public and home-schooled)
  • Community Potlucks.

Community

TFS Volunteer Fire Department Held Annual Meeting

EntomologistJed

This past Wednesday night (24 March 2021), the TFS Volunteer Fire Department had its much-delayed annual meeting at the Trego Civic Center. The evening included a discussion of the expenses of the fire department, the activity of the department, appointment of new board members, a bylaw change, and a mention of a proposed fee increase that will be taken to the commissioners. The meeting ended with a reminder to everyone to take bread home with them.

A much delayed meeting:

The annual meeting requires at least 20 members to attend. Conventionally, the annual meeting is held in November, however there were not enough people in attendance to hold November’s meeting. Members of the department expressed their disappointment at poor attendance. Twenty-one members attended Wednesday’s meeting, making a full quorum.

Liz Williams discusses the qualifications to be a voting member of the TFS VFD corporation.

Expenses:

  • Purchased Fire Station Software Program for Record Keeping (c. $1,300 initial cost, and $200 in yearly upkeep).
  • Upgraded the electricity to the Trego Station (the lights flickered and occasionally went out when the wind blew).
  • Purchased 4 new SCBA (Self Contained Breathing Apparatus) packs without bottles. Each SCBA pack cost about $4000, a considerable savings without new $1000 bottles. This brings the department to a total of 12 full packs and 4 spare bottles.
  • Acquired a 2008 F-550 type 6 fire engine on lifetime loan from the DNRC

Department Activity:

The department attended a greater number of calls, since the ambulance was attending fewer (due to fear of exposing the ambulance crew to Covid). From November of 2019 to November of 2020 the department had a total of 36 calls. Seven were aid calls, one of which was actually a cat in a tree.

The department set up WEX cards for tax-exempt fuel purchasing, ran first-aid and CPR classes, and taught emergency drills. They also passed pump testing on all three engines with no issues – to some acclaim from their testers.

Raffle:

The department’s raffle was postponed due to Covid. The firearm being raffled is a Henry 45-70. The business and firefighter to sell the most tickets will each receive a Henry 47 HMR. The department will be selling tickets at Rendezvous Days.

New Board Members:

Of the current board, three positions were up for election. Those held by: Wayne Nowacki (representing the area at large), Josh Helgert (representing Trego) and John Menke (representing Fortine): John Menke and Josh Helgert were reappointed and Dan Schenkram of Trego replaced Wayne Nowacki.

All three alternate board members positions were up for election (terms are yearly). Jacob Chrestensen of Stryker, Matthew Kelley, Justin Menke, were nominated to the at-large, Trego, and Fortine positions, respectively.

By-law Change:

Section 2. Qualifications of Members. Any person shall be qualified to be a member of the corporation if A. he or she is (1) over 18 years old, (2) is assessed a fee by Lincoln County for fire protection within the TFS Fire Service Area, and (3) is not a member of any other fire department.“

TFS Volunteer Fire Department By-laws, as amended.

The amendment, which was approved, removed part 3 of the membership qualifications, so that residents of TFS Fire District that are part of Eureka’s fire department can still be voting members of TFS Volunteer Fire Department.

Proposed Fee Increase:

With the departmental budget rather tight, fee proposals are being discussed. At this stage, it’s discussion only. Later, they’ll go to the commissioners, and folks will have a chance to vote.

Currently, the department collects about $45,000 annually. The proposal is to double the fire protection fees. The current fee is 50$ for homeowners (it was raised from $25 to $50 in 2010), businesses pay more. Another suggestion was that the fee be based on taxable value, so that folks with larger houses and outbuildings would pay more for fire protection.

Get Involved:

The public is welcome to attend training nights, as well as the TFS VFD’s monthly board meetings.

Trainings happen on Monday nights at 7 PM at the Fortine Fire Hall, between the Fortine Mercantile and the greenboxes on Highway 93.

Meetings are held the Second Tuesday of each Month, at 7 PM, also at the Fortine Fire Hall.

Community

The International’s Last Run

michaelmccurryphd

Few of us recall Trego’s first fire truck.  We have to go abeam nearly a half-century to get to those of us who drove it – and I guess I’m one of the youngest.  Tommy White, Jack Dickinson, Ted Burke, LeeRoy Mee, Tom Johnson, Cecil Storm – all gone, and with them many of the memories and stories that involved the old International.

It was red – faded, and pebble-textured in the way that only a lead-based paint endures the elements.  It may have been from the late forties or the early fifties.  I don’t know of any photos remaining.  It wasn’t the sort of truck that inspired photographers – just an old International, with a cylindrical water tank, a couple of wooden ladders strapped to the side, and a marginally reliable single cylinder engine powering the water pump.

I recall driving it up to Gongaware’s for a chimney fire, along with Curtis Schroeder.  Curt went up the ladder with three fire extinguishers, and, by the time I had the pump running, he had the fire under control.  Another trip was to Norby’s – we were too late to save much of anything that time.  I don’t know how many runs the old beast made – but I drove the International on it’s last run.

We were backup for a fire up Deep Creek. As I started the truck from our root-cellar fire hall, and headed out, I could see Jack Dickinson stop at the service station, and get out of his rig to be picked up.  I pulled toward him, stepped the brakes down, and, since there were no brakes, kept the International in third to cross the tracks and continue down the hill.  Jack passed me on the downhill, and parked at the substation for pickup.  This time I used the emergency brake and stopped for Jack.  He asked “Why didn’t you stop the first time?”  Shifting into third, I answered, “No brakes.”  Around the Ant Flat Ranger Station the horn button flew out of the steering wheel.  Jack grabbed it as it flew towards my face.  As I tried to stop when we reached 93, the emergency brake lever came loose.  Jack took it, since it wasn’t doing me any good.  Things went well along the highway, and we headed up Deep Creek.  When I went to downshift into third, a chunk of the clutch linkage gave way – but we were in third, and continued to the fire.

We parked and started the engine on the pump.  I crawled under and managed to get the clutch functioning again.  I never knew if Jack got the board to buy the ton and a half Ford that replaced the International, or if he just bought the second-hand truck himself and started transferring parts.  I know it was a better truck than the International – and that Jack Dickinson’s presence made a better community.