GREAT FALLS — Great Falls Fire Rescue Chief Steve Hester introduced the “City of Great Falls Community Risk Reduction Program” at a Citizens Council meeting on Tuesday night.
The purpose of the program is to allow the fire department to partner with other city and county agencies to alleviate a number of risks that the community faces.
Chief Hester noted in his presentation that the department has evolved immensely during his time there, and is no longer relegated to solely focusing on fires. Now they respond to all types of emergencies as needed, including a large number of medical incidents.
Because of this increased responsibility, 65% of the time on any given day, two of the city’s four fire stations are tied up dealing with emergencies, rendering them incapable of responding to other new or developing situations. Nine percent of the time, every available resource within the Fire Department is actively responding to some kind of situation and/or emergency. The goal is to get that number to zero percent.
