Distinctly Montana Magazine

Welcome to Go Fish Montana! Throw into the mix one of the highest suicide rates in the nation, dry grassland, tinderbox forests and increasing numbers of houses being built in the wildland interface. Despite training, perseverance and a strong will, the odds often are stacked against Montana's volunteer firefighters. Hillier still vividly remembers a mobile home fire in 2004 where he pulled a burned body out of the trailer. "She was a wheelchair-bound elderly lady," Hillier recalled. "While it was awful, the autopsy showed she had perished from the smoke before she was burned which made it seem a little better." An adage says that if a volunteer reaches the two-year anniversary with their department, they might make it longer. Unfortunately, like the chance of surviving a rollover accident without a seatbelt, many wash out before that. Work pressures, waning support from tired spouses, the grim sight of mangled bodies, neighbors' domestic strife, and the next call — because there is always a next call — gradually can weaken one's resolve. "People seem more willing to open their checkbooks these days than to volunteer," lamented Hillier, though he is encouraged that his department's retention is good and he feels their current roster of volunteers is the highest quality it has been during his tenure. It easily takes two years or more to become somewhat comfortable responding to 911 calls as a volunteer firefighter. Being entrusted to do the same work that others, maybe just one town over, are being paid to do is an enormous responsibility. Many departments train one night per week, which just barely covers the skill sets needed, so often additional training is required. Rich Cowger, the fire chief in Columbus, sees increased training requirements, increased call volumes, both mother and father working, and the economy all as enemies to recruiting volunteers. Cowger, 41, cut his eye teeth in smaller volunteer departments before taking over as chief in Columbus in 2008. He also serves as president of the Montana State Fire Chiefs Association. "People's time is more valuable now than ever," Cowger said. "Back in the day you saw local business people and the self-employed as volunteers. Now younger folks are more focused and we need to use their time as efficiently as possible." Cowger started volunteering in 1993 and was attracted both to the adrenaline rush that each call brings as well as the sense of need and belonging that comes from a disparate group of people bonding for a common good. "Knowing you can make a difference when the chips are down for someone is what draws most of us to the work," he said. One of Cowger's long-time volunteers, John Marjerison, 43, nearly paid the ultimate price during one of the Columbus area's most stubborn wildfires, the Derby Fire in 2006. Marjerison, a married father of three and an engineer at the Stillwater Mining Company, was in a safe w w w. d i s t i n c t ly mo nt a na .co m W e specialize in providing a real indigenous Montana experience by using local products and companies to ensure the memory you have with us will be 100% genuine. Burke Tyree info@gofishmontana.com 406-546-0340 Go Fish Montana 154 Pine Court Lakeside, MT 59922 85

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