Upper Yaak firefighters to get much-needed training

It was a Valentine’s Day to forget.

This past February, the Upper Yaak Fire Service’s main building burned to the ground. Not only did the volunteer department lose its housing barn and training center, but also an initial attack truck that was not insured because of its age.

Nine months later, the Yaak department appears to be in the midst of a nice comeback. The dozen firefighters and staff are now using a new building that went up over the summer and just this week, the department secured a $36,191 federal grant to be used for training.

“This grant is for firefighter schools where they will learn to use SCBAs (self-contained breathing apparatus) and do structure fires,” said Sharon Sullivan, Yaak Fire Services secretary and treasurer. “We are not trained to do that currently, so this is going to be the next step so we can have an ISO rating to reduce insurance costs to the residents here in the Yaak.”

The majority of insurance companies refer to the Insurance Services Organizations rating to establish premiums for residential, commercial and industrial properties.

The Yaak was one of five departments that received an Assistance to Firefighters Grant, the other four being Augusta, Fort Ellis (near Bozeman), East Helena and Wolf Point. The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Grants and Training administers the program with help from the U.S. Fire Administration.

The fire departments applied for the grants last spring.

“This money will go directly towards helping keep our communities safe,” Montana Sen. Max Baucus said. “Well-equipped firefighters help protect our homes and businesses, which benefits everyone in our communities.”

Sullivan said four Yaak firefighters will go through training at a firefighting school in Great Falls.

“We can certainly use it,” fire chief Basil Canavan said about the grant. “Most volunteer fire departments are under-funded.”

Canavan has served as fire chief since 2002.

Although it is useable, Upper Yaak Fire Service’s new building is not finished. Work continues one step at a time on the 60-foot structure, which is 20 feet longer than the old building.

“It’s almost completed … we’re having International Flooring coming in the first of December to put all the flooring in the training room,” Sullivan said. “We’re getting kitchen cabinets put in so we can do fundraisers there. We hope to have it all done by February.”

The department would still like to replace the initial attack truck that was lost in the fire. Sullivan said the smaller vehicles are important because of the logistics of getting down narrow driveways and other tight places that are common in the Yaak. The department has two other vehicles – a truck capable of carrying 300 gallons of water and an older water tender that was formerly owned by the Libby Volunteer Fire Department.

In addition, a state-of-the-art radio system is expected to arrive any day now.

“We will be out there on the cutting edge on communications with police and search and rescue and other departments,” Sullivan said. “We’ll be using the Mount Baldy repeater.”