Northern Jefferson County Basic Firefighter Training graduation ceremony and BBQ lunch was held at Montana City VFD Station 1 on May 4 for students who participated in the 2024 Northern Jefferson County Basic Firefighter Training.
Retired Montana City VFD past Chief Rick Abraham, who took his basic firefighter training in the 1980s, told those present that when he joined the department, there were only 250 buildings over a 35 square mile area for them to protect in Montana City. “Today, not only has Montana City grown exponentially, also Clancy and Jefferson City have experienced a dramatically increased need for fire service. The fire service has also changed – it is much safer and there is now more professional training. Congratulations for all your time and effort.” Abraham remains connected to MCVFD by serving as a Trustee and Support Member – he and retired Captain Ken Kluth (also a Support Member) were the grill masters cooking up burgers and hot dogs for the crowd.
Current MCVFD Fire Chief Lyn Stimpson, who conducted the class as an employee of the Montana State University FireService Training School, thanked the many volunteers from multiple departments who, through their supportive efforts, allowed the trainees to accomplish what could easily have been 100 hours in a much shorter period of time. The support staff made meals so class could start earlier, refilled air tanks, reracked hoses, reset props and coached, often serving as crew leaders on walk-throughs of the largely hands-on training so the stuents could get more repetition on the drills.
Classes began in February and covered: caring for and donning personal protective equipment including self-contained breathing apparatus; exterior and then interior fire attack and tactics; firefighter rescue/Mayday – how to save a fellow firefighter if they got in trouble on the fire ground; Critical Incident Stress Management; highway traffic management; HAZMAT awareness and decontamination procedures; entering a structure via a ladder, isolating the fire and searching for victims; driver/operator training including establishing a water supply by drafting water from ponds, tanks or using a hydrant; live car fires which utilized a burn prop at the airport; and finally bringing it all together with exterior/interior structure fireattack using the live fire burn prop with three different rooms inside.
Including Stimpson, 34 were involved in the training – either as students or support staff, which was provided free of charge through MSU Fire Service Training School. 85% of all fire protection in the United States is provided by volunteer firefighters. Our Jefferson County fire departments are looking for motivated individuals over 18 years old with a desire to learn how to respond safely to help our neighbors. Local departments provide additional training in their fire district and all personal protective gear at no cost to the volunteer. Please reach out to your local volunteer fire department if you are interested in getting involved. You will be glad you did!
