Deer Lodge Fire Crew
A cooperative effort between the Montana Department of Natural Resources & Conservation
(DNRC)
Montana Department of Corrections (DOC) and Montana State Prison (MSP)
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The Deer Lodge Fire Crew is a Type 2 hand crew managed and supervised by DNRC, DOC and MSP.
It is available for dispatch to any wildland fire incident (state, federal or local jurisdiction) in Montana.
The Deer Lodge Fire Crew provides suppression services at a lower cost than other hand crews.
Can be assembled and rolling to a fire location within 2 hours of being ordered.
The crew is a resource of the Southwestern Land Office - DNRC, and is dispatched through the Missoula Interagency Dispatch Center.
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Participation in the Deerlodge Fire Crew enables inmates
to:
Be responsible by paying for family support and crime victim’s compensation from their checks. Acquire new skills. Provide a valuable service as a productive member of society. |
DNRC and Montana State Prison cooperated on a fire crew for 25 years
from 1969 – 1994. The Deer Lodge Fire Crew was discontinued for
a period of time because of various reasons – one being staffing.
The agencies did not want to compromise public safety given the size
of the crew and the level of supervision we could provide. There also
were concerns with job assignments at the Montana State Prison. In the
past the inmates assigned to the fire crew were pulled off of their regular
jobs at MSP, which placed a burden on operations there.
DNRC, DOC and MSP were able to re-establish the Deer Lodge Fire Crew beginning
in 2002. Changes were made to the program to increase the number of correctional
officers on the crew so that safety of the public and staff is adequately addressed.
Fire training was also bolstered to provide for increased safety and effectiveness
in the suppression effort. Inmates on the fire crew are now assigned full-time
so their absence while on fire assignments does not affect other operations at
MSP. Selection for the Fire Crew:
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Inmates must meet screening requirements including:
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Crew Demographics
DNRC Crew Boss
3 Correctional Officer Squad Bosses
15 inmate firefighters
Additional inmates and Correctional Officers are trained and ready to fill in as needed.
Equipment: The DNRC provides three vehicles to transport the crew to fires; a passenger van, a "crummy" and a chase truck carrying tools and equipment. The crew comes equipped with personal protective equipment, radios, hand tools, one chainsaw, meals and sleeping bags. The crew is self sufficient for the first operational period and won't require re-supply until after that.
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Training |
| DNRC provides 5 days of classroom and field training each spring at MSP. All inmates are trained and qualified at the Firefighter (FFT2) level. All officers are trained and qualified at the Advanced Firefighter/Squad Boss (FFT1) level. The DNRC provides a trained and qualified Crew Boss (CRWB). |
Security
The Deer Lodge Fire Crew will have 24-hour supervision by Correctional Officers. Efforts will be made to keep the crew separated from other personnel, especially at incident base or camp locations. What does the Deer Lodge Fire Crew do between fires? Under the supervision of Correctional Officer Tom Gillibrand, the inmates are assigned to other duties while waiting for a fire call. Montana State Prison and Montana Correctional Enterprises has a list of work for the crews. To date, the MSP Fire Crew has accomplished such tasks as:
- Cleaned up the grain around the railroad tracks in Deer Lodge
- Cleaned up Fairground for Deer Lodge’s Territorial Days
- Cleaned up the perimeter of Montana State Prison
- Helped community members install play ground equipment for School District #1 in Deer Lodge
Some of the future assignments for the fire crew include:
- Painting of the Powell County Fairgrounds bleachers prior to the fair
- Clean up of the Fairground arena after the annual demolition derby
- Weed control and clean up of Arrowstone Park in Deer Lodge.
