BUTTE — Ed Fisher has been with the Boulevard Volunteer Fire Department for 50 years, before that his older brother was chief and before that his father was chief — you could say being a volunteer firefighter runs in his blood.
“So there’s a lot of history here. These pictures right here of one of Boulevard’s first engines was 1936,” Fisher said as he looked at a wall full of old photographs.
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For Fisher, being a volunteer firefighter is about family and community.
“Got out of the military, I was in the Marine Corp., I was a Vietnam veteran in 1974, I moved one block, I’ve never leaved out of this neighborhood,” he said.
Fisher fears Butte’s neighborhoods could lose many of its volunteer departments if local laws change who controls these departments.
In November, voters can decide to make changes to the city charter that governs volunteer departments. The Butte Local Government Study Commission is giving voters the option to place nine of Butte’s volunteer fire departments under the control of the Butte-Silver Bow fire service, or allow the volunteer departments to govern themselves.
“There has to be clear channels for authority to make sure that when we arrive on scene that there is a system in place so everyone can go home at the end of the day, that everyone is safe,” Study Commission member and paid Butte Firefighter Chad Silk said.
Volunteer departments want to remain independent and worry turning over command to the county would cause many of the more than 130 volunteer firefighters to quit.
“If you don’t have fire stations and manpower, taxes could be raised, insurance rates could be raised,” Fisher said.
Volunteers argue they’ve been protecting their communities for over 100 years.
“I would like for somebody to point to an instance where it didn’t work. I think we have a pretty good track record of just getting things done,” Big Butte Volunteer Fire Chief Brendon Dale said.
The volunteer departments will host a community barbecue Oct. 4 at the Butte Plaza Mall from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. and will answer questions about this initiative.
