By Chad C. Knudson
Ranger-Review Staff Writer
When fire strikes in a remote stretch of Dawson County, there’s a good chance volunteers of the West Glendive Fire Department will show up to fight it. However if it is a house, vehicle, equipment, barn or hay stack on fire, they are under no legal obligation to do so. The Dawson County Commissioners hope to remedy that with the formation of a rural fire district.
Currently Dawson County contracts with WGFD to provide fire protection in a ‘Wildland Fire Protection Area,’ but recently discovered that under state law this protection only applies to wildland fire – in Dawson County this means primarily grasslands.
“The statute reads that legally we are only required to fight wildland fires,” West Glendive Fire Chief Richie Crisafulli said. “We’ve always responded to all the fires.”
Randy Frank, president of the West Glendive Fire Department Board, said as a firefighting unit, the department can’t imagine not responding to a fire, regardless of what the law says.
However the commissioners say the current tax levy of about 2.27 mills doesn’t generate nearly enough money to pay the current contract with WGFD.
“We’ve used money from cash reserves for the past couple of years,” Clerk and Recorder Shirley Kreiman said.
Facing a deficit for the current contract and legal limitations on the fire protection that should be covered by that contract, the commissioners are encouraging rural land owners to cooperate in the formation of a rural fire district.
The district would include all of Dawson County, except for the City of Glendive and the West Glendive Fire District.
The commissioners expect the district would need to levy 6.27 mills to fully fund a proper contract for full fire protection. The cost is estimated at $8.46 per year for every $100,000 of property.
“The creation of a rural fire district requires signatures from 40 percent of property owners within the proposed district,” Commissioner Dennis Zander said.
Commissioner Doug Buxbaum noted if two or more owners hold the property, all of them must sign the petition.
In the absence of the new district, the commissioners are worried about the ability to continue providing fire protection.
“Worse case scenario is we redo the contract to only cover wildland fires,” Zander said. “Any vehicle, equipment, hay stack or home would not be covered.”
Frank said his department would have a hard time standing by while a fire hit a county resident, but Zander said that was a separate issue.
“You’ve got a volunteer service that’s already stretched to the limit both from a financial and personnel perspective,” he said. “We had more fires last year than I believe I’ve seen in 19 years. We brought in the state more. We brought in helicopters and strike units.”
“It stretched our budget to the max,” Frank said. “If we have another year like that our budget will be in a serious bind.”
The commissioners would like to see the county respond favorably by signing a petition which has already been started. They hope the process might be concluded by the end of the fiscal year in June so the county can plan the next budget with the new revenue included.
Landowners have a couple of options when it comes to the petition. They can either stop at the Dawson County Courthouse and sign a petition at the Clerk and Recorder’s office or sign a copy of the petition they will be receiving in the mail.
Crisafulli said even with the new district there won’t be an abundance of new money and the department will continue to rely heavily on other resources.
“There is so much more than tax dollars needed to keep this department running,” he said. “The grants and state funding, trucks we’ve been provided, it is all needed.”
“There is nothing to cut,” Zander said of the bare bones fire operation, noting the WGFD provides protection to 2,400 square miles of territory on an all-volunteer basis.
Another benefit of the tax district would be to the Richey Rural Fire Department, which Frank and Crisafulli said is poorly funded at the present.
“We pay some of their bills, but they raise money through an annual letter seeking donations,” Crisafulli said. “We’ve talked to Butch (Raisl) about getting them some more funds.”
Frank said if the district is approved the Richey department would be funded through the contract.
Frank also noted WGFD is supporting the effort because it is something that needs to be done, but stressed it is not a department driven initiative.
Rural county residents can expect to receive a letter from the commission in the coming days. Questions should be directed to the commissioners at 377-3562.
Reach Chad Knudson at
rrpub@rangerreview.com.