Study shows public well served by fire department
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POLSON — At a joint meeting of the Polson City Commissioners and the Polson Rural Fire District on Feb. 20, Lane Wintermute, Emergency Service Consulting International, hit the high points on a fire department agency evaluation.
Wintermute said ESCI was engaged in the summer of 2013 by the PRFD to conduct this evaluation.
“I can tell you in the big picture, the fire department is well run, does a good job, has a good response time, and the citizens of Polson and the district are well served,” Wintermute said.
The study evaluated current conditions, future system demand projections, recommended future strategies and included conclusions. The study can be viewed on the website www. Polson.fire.org. On the home page, look at the upper right corner and click on “agency evaluation report.”
The study recommended a single, unified governance model.
One of the reasons for the study was that the PRFD has been approached to sell the Fairgrounds Fire Station, and the PRFD has been looking at land to build a fire station in Jette.
Wintermute said to avoid making future station decisions based on a reaction to a particular fire or incident, or solely on ISO criteria — the rating bureau that sets insurance rates — or the availability of free land.
“It has to be based on science,” Wintermute said.
Science would include the number of runs, where the runs are located, an analysis of travel and response times and volunteer availability.
Wintermute said he would encourage the City of Polson commissioners, the PRFD trustees and citizens to sit down and develop a common vision.
The next PRFD meeting will be held on March 12 at 7 p.m. at the Fairground Fire Station meeting room.
