Wise River Fire Department was the proud recipient of a firefighter recruitment & retention grant from FEMA. The purpose of this grant is to provide funding to the WRVFD for marketing and training efforts to recruit and retain firefighters. Incentives under the grant also include money for NFPA physicals, tuition assistance for students, particularly those in Fire or EMS fields of study, mentoring and leadership funding to improve department operations and, if desired, implement a mentorship program at the department. The grant is set to run for 48 months, starting in October of 2015, and ending in October, 2019.
The Domestic Preparedness Assistance Center, or DPAC for short, a Montana based non-profit consulting firm located in Helena has been contracted to provide project management services for the life of the grant. DPAC Recruiters will be visiting schools and businesses in both Beaverhead and Madison counties to talk to prospective recruits about joining their local volunteer department. A marketing campaign, "Be 1 Of Us" has been developed to support the effort and Facebook and other social media platforms will be used as well as traditional mediums like newspaper and possibly TV and Radio. Additionally, DPAC will offer a variety of value added services such as grant writing assistance for equipment, Incident Command System (ICS) training, Mentoring & Leadership Training, and also website and print materials design and assistance.
Wise River Fire Department has graciously invited all volunteer fire departments in Beaverhead and Madison counties to participate in and benefit from the grant activities. The goal is to gain 5 new firefighters for each participating department over the life of the grant as well as to improve retention and firefighter safety and department capability.
*Conducted by 406 Fire Training:
- 12/2/18 Primary Search Training - Wise River, MT
- 10/14/18 PPE/SCBA Training - Wise River, MT
- 9/16/18 PPE/SCBA Training - Wise River, MT
- 8/19/18 Engine Operations Training - Wise River, MT
- 7/22/18 Engine Operations Training - Wise River, MT
- 6/3/18 Auto Extrication Training - Wise River, MT
- 4/23/18 Standards of Survival Training - Wise River, MT
- 3/12/18 Primary Search Training - Wise River, MT
- 2/12/18 Fire Attack-Smoke –Thermal Imaging Training - Wise River, MT
- 12/13/17 Building Construction Training - Sheridan, MT
- 11/13/17 Fire Behavior Training - Sheridan, MT
- 10/16/17 Thermal Imaging Training - Wise River, MT
- 8/28/17 Water supply-Tender Ops Training - Wise River, MT
- 7/18/17 Standards of Survival-Shelter Deployment Training - Wise River, MT
- 6/5/17 Car Fire Training - Wise River, MT
- 5/8/17 Station and Apparatus Inventory- Wise River, MT
- 2/24/17 Initial Radio Reports Training - Wise River, MT
Training Activities
Wise River Fire Department took advantage of the great opportunities offered in the SAFER grant by hosting regular training events and making them available to all departments in Madison & Beaverhead Counties!
Print Marketing Materials:
To order any of the sample materials below for your department, or to have us design something for you. Contact us at info@mtfirehire.org
SAFER Grant EMW-2014-FF-00458
Be1ofus.org ©