WHO WE ARE
Volunteer Fire-Fighters and Emergency Responders Supporting the Rural Montana Communities of Somers, Lakeside, and Lower Valley.
Our Mission Statement: A volunteer rural fire department in Somers/Lakeside, MT. We are dedicated to reducing the loss of life and property through emergency response, prevention & education. We respond to a variety of calls and provide multiple services to our community.
Our district covers the north-west portion of Flathead Lake. It includes Highway 93 from mile-marker 94, north to the bridge over Ashley Creek, just south of the Highway 93 Alternate intersection. It also includes Highway 82 from the western intersection with 93 to the bridge across the Flathead River. The Flathead River creates most of the northern boundary. To the west, our district meets forest lands around Blacktail Mountain.
From major highways to popular water-accesses, and Wildland-Urban Interface to commercial and industrial buildings, the district presents our volunteers with a wide range of emergencies. The ninety plus degree Summers and sub-freezing Winters also add complexity. Wildlife are not an uncommon site along Highway 93 and 82, and vehicle-versus-wildlife incidents are a frequent occurrence. Each Summer we respond to wildland fires both inside and outside our district. Each Winter we conduct ice-rescue training as the edge-waters and bays often freeze over and attract anglers and other recreational activities. And of course, there is the namesake of the fire-fighting profession, the rare and tragic structure fire, which can happen any time, any place.
Our volunteers are dedicated to providing you with the best and fastest emergency response we can. As a department comprised 100% of volunteers, including Chiefs and Captains, each of us does our best to balance the demands of careers, family, and our commitment to the community as fire-fighters.
If you would like to help or volunteer, there are many options. Support doesn't always take the form of a nozzle-man.
APPARATUS AND EQUIPMENT
A little information about the trucks and equipment we have available.
Between two stations we maintain a full array of equipment to best respond to the wide variety of emergencies presented. Each station maintains a structure-fire engine, a wildland engine, a water tender, as well as extrication equipment.
535
Type I Engine - Somers Fire Station
535 is our most recent addition, our "Princess." She is equipped to respond to Motor Vehicle Accidents (MVAs), vehicle and structure fires, and more. In addition to fire-fighting equipment it carries hydraulic extrication equipment ("Jaws of Life").
582
Type VI Engine - Lakeside Fire Station
582 is a Wildland Engine with a whole lot more up her sleeve. Like 535, it is prepared to respond to MVAs, including portable hydraulic extrication equipment. With the foundation of an F550, the smaller size of 582 enables it to negotiate very tight spaces as well as the rough roads and hills to the west.
593
Water Tender, 4000 gallon capacity - Somers Fire Station
593 is a monster of a tender. 4000 gallons gives it 40 minutes of support at 100 gpm. This gives a great start on any structure or wildland fire with plenty of time to refill and return if necessary. It is also equipped with a remotely-controlled water turret for fighting fire at a distance while helping maintain the safety of the operator.
538
Type I Engine - Lakeside Fire Station
538 is equipped to support on a wide variety of calls, but she is primarily intended for structure fires. She comes equipped with the standard hose and water load of a Type I engine. She can be set up to pump foam, and she has a removable/portable roof-mounted turret for putting large volumes of water on a fire from a safe distance. Among other equipment, 582 carries a chainsaw and positive pressure ventilation fan.
539
Type I Engine/(Type VI)- Somers Fire Station
539 is a multi-purpose engine, that often functions as a wildland engine, but it is also capable of supporting structure-fires and MVAs. It is larger than the Lakeside Wildland engine (582), but is still plenty capable of getting off the paved roads to tackle fires. Like 593 (the Somers tender), 539 has a bumper-mounted, remote-control water turret. With an on-board generator she also has the ability to support a wide variety of powered tools and scene lighting.
594
Water Tender, 3200 gallon capacity - Lakeside Fire Station
Although not the volume of the Somers Tender, 594 is nonetheless a valuable supporting apparatus with plenty of critical, fire-extinguishing capacity. She is also equipped with a front bumper-mounted spray-bar for laying wet-lines and quickly dumping large volumes of water directly on ground fires.
531
Type I Engine - Somers Fire Station
531 is the oldest engine in the department, but nonetheless an effective fire-fighting apparatus. She provides backup to 535 as the main structure-fire engine out of Somers.
561
Command Vehicle
561 is our department's command vehicle, driven by Chief Tom Havens. It is a full-size pickup, carrying no water or hose, but is instead designed to get Chief quickly on scene with a smaller vehicle size so that he can assess the situation, order more resources if necessary, and effectively direct emergency response efforts. 561 does carry an array of hand tools, fire extinguishers, and traffic-control equipment.