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About The Big Timber Pioneer (Big Timber, Mont.) 1983-current | View This Issue
The Big Timber Pioneer (Big Timber, Mont.), 12 Dec. 2003, located at <http://montananewspapers.org/lccn/sn83002511/2003-12-12/ed-1/seq-2/>, image provided by MONTANA NEWSPAPERS, Montana Historical Society, Helena, Montana.
Page 2 — BIG TIMBER (MT) PIONEER — Week of December 12-18, 2003 C o n t i n u e d H o b b l e F i r e cnloi^L’meni reseac officers arc not usually paid, said Bjoriulul However. Sweet Grass County Commissioners elected to pay them régulai huuis and overtime for tins lire Tilts decision was made because of the seventy of the fire and the long duration of the volunteers' sen tees Regular law enforcement officers and ambulance personnel were paid overtime hours only from PI-MA expenses because they would normally he paid then regular hours in any case All expenditures submitted to FEMA are broken down below by volunteer fire departments, county road crew, law enforcement, and ambulance. Volunteer Firemen The diuigcs lniairrcd b\ the Big Timber Volunteer Ptre Department tor the Hobble Puc totaled $79 732 52 I he largest expense was >4 1.600 Is tor the lirelighung ei|uipmcnt used in the lire's suppression The fee paid lor the equipment's use is determined b\ using rates set lorth in the NWCG Handbook Material costs were also incuircd by the department m the amount ol S22.424.72 This covers the price of repairing or replacing equipment, supplies, and materials that were lost, damaged, destroyed, or (.unsullied m the performance of fire suppression activities, as well as f'Vs ..barged for aerial reconnaissance used during the tire Manpower costs, which in non monetary considerations may be lhe most valuable considering the personal risk involved, only .((.inin'ed for $15.707 65 'he late paid to the Inelightcis •• i -overtied bv the WVCG 1 1 i ..a i ' kk and determined by each ' • ’i ‘ s -.kills and naming I Reed Point volunteer Fire >■ I 'em wax involved in the also and incurred an 'pciditure of $29,282.84 in this tndea\\i Equipment expenditures for this department were $19.838 50 for the use of county firefighting equipment and arc governed by the NWCG Handbook Material charges in the amount of $2.656 34 were incurred tor fuel lor firefighting vehicles, food for firefighters, and the monetary toll for replacing tools, materials, and supplies lost, damaged, or consumed during firefighting activities. Two other fire agencies. Columbus Rural Fire District and Park City Rural Fire District, were also involved m tire suppression. These agencies incurred expenses in two categories - equipment and manpower. No material costs were paid to these entities E.xpenditiii es incurred by Columbus were $4.749 23 for the operation of fire dixtiiet equipment and SI.796 7s for manpower, for a total of $6.545 98 Park C ity's total was $3.142 75. comprised of $2.314 00 in equipment charges for the use of one Type 2 Engine and $828 75 for munpowei Sweet Crass County Road Department Jn general according to county documental ion. the County Road Department used regular employees and unpaid volunteers who operated county owned equipment to cut out perimeter lire lines for containment ot the fire Equipment rates for the use of comity equipment accounted for the largest portion. $77.243.00, of the total expenditure of $82.668.72. All reported equipment time was charged -it a rate governed bv the NWCG Interagency Incident Business Management Handbook Labor charges reported to FEMA reflect only those paid for overtime hours worked by regular countv employees and total S3.822.7?. Material costs of $1.602.97 consist ol fuel costs for the county owned equipment used m cutting the perimeter lire (mes Do you have something to Buy, Sell, Trade or Give Away? Try The Pioneer Classifieds! Call 932-5298 CITY CLUB LANES & STEAK HOUSE 202 Anderson • Big Timber, MT • 932-5485 WINTER HOURS. 11 am - 2 pm, 5-9 pm Sun, 5-9 pm Mon-Thurs; 5-10 pm Fri & Sat GVSRY MONfcAY • • • All y o u c*» eut feXfesiii Friday Nice Special - PU S H HALIBUT Saturday N ile Special BEEF KABOBS Oyer Bed o f WILD BICE ... For the Dec. 26th issue of the BIG TIMBER PIONEER is Tuesday, December 23 at 2 p.m. This DEADLINE is for all News, Display and Classified ads. The Pioneer will CLOSE on Wednesday, December 24th and reopen on Monday, December 29th. Sweet Grass County Sheriff's Department During the Hobble Eire the Sweet Grass County Sheriff's Department was responsible for providing labor, equipment and materials to set up and man emergency roadblocks, warn residents of changes m the fire’s behavior, help with evacuations, and prov ide security in the lire area. Tins was done using regular law enforcement and dispatch personnel, and by the use of reserve deputies Payment received by regular Sheriffs Department employees for overtime was the only type eligible for reimbursement by FEMA While the Sheriff is not usually paid overtime. Commissioners elected to pay his overtime during the emergency lire duty. Charges for the regular Sheriffs Department employees were reported as $1.638 54 The pay rate of $10 per hour for reserve deputies was governed by the NWCG Interagency Incident Business Management Handbook and was judged to be that of a Security Specialist. Total costs for this contract labor was $4.163 72. In addition to labor expenses the Shcnlfs Department also incurred equipment fees of $2.010.00 for the use of Sheriffs Office vehicles during the Hobble Fire The rate paid for vehicle use is sot forth m NWCG Handbook and provides that the allowable rate for each vehicle will consist of a daily rate plus a cost-per-nnle lor the miles driven by the vehicle However, no mileage records were kept for the vehicles so no mileage costs were allowed as equipment expenditures. One vehicle used by a reserve deputy was damaged during the lire but no reimbursement was allowed by FEMA because the damage occurred the night before FEMA look control of the lire. Material charges of $1.616.15 were also incurred hy the department and covered food, water, vehicle fuel, and three blown tires Also covered hy the FEMA guidelines was the expense of replacing CD-R discs used by the Sheriffs Office during the fire and reported lees for cell phone calls made by deputies on the lire line Sweet Grass County Ambulance Costs incurred by the county ambulance service during the fire were $1.663.58. These charges are lor the ambulance set vice providing Emergency Medical Technician (EMTi personnel on a continuous standby basis for the emergency' medical treatment of firelighters and others for (he first two days of the lire incident period. To this end ;t total of Ifi EMTs worked varied two person slults from .S’00 am on August 10. until 10 00 pm on August I I The personnel were paid at the rate of $10 per hour for the fire standby hours worked, for a total of $886.58 Equipment fees of $777 were incurred during this period for an ambulance to be available as an on-site emergency medical facility hy the EMTs working the fire The bottom line Although the county can verily and document charges in (he amount of $212.464.80, that does not mean it is eligible to receive lhe total amount from FEMA in reimbursement FEMA will only reimburse the county for 75 percent of the monetary outlay and litis, according lo Bjorndal. She stated funds in the amount of $159.348.60 were deposited into the county's account last Thursday, leaving the county with a monetary toll of $53.ll(i 20 for the Hobble Fire. Bjorndal is still using the money received from FEMA to replace*that removed from the road, law enforcement, lire, ambulance and payment in lieu of taxes funds that were used to meet expenditures from the lire Although landowners and those living on land the fire took for its own arc not charged by the county for firelighters and others who came to their aid. many of tltcir losses arc those that cannot he measured in dollars and cents, making the county the luckier of the two. For the county. this chapter can he closed. .L ast S tand ¡ r e w o r k s Open December 29 th, 30 th, &L 3 1 s t For your New Year’s Celebration. We are now selling Gift Certificates which make Rteat Stock inn Stuffers. Iasi Sund Tiiewcrks 1500 E. Park 222-3025 L ü f z e s t .— . Schaum/ M.ijiT C.nviit C\mh M.iry* S-itf Prospector Pizza Curtclj Specials M onday - P izza , S oup , S alad B ar anda L unch S pecial T uesday -T aco B ar < ^ >W ednesday - P izza , S oup , S alad B ar and a L unch S pecial T hursday - B urger B ar R uday - P izza , S oup , S alad B ar anda L unch S pecial H omemade S oups D aily Winter Hours: 7AM -8 P M Monday-Thursday ASaturday 7 A M - 9 PM Friday , 121 $)c£eocl S i. i$ig Timber, 032 - O - Keep them w a r m this winter... Apply now for this heating season. N o r t h W f e s t e m Energy ... s i g n u p f o t ' H E A P t o d a y . Sometimes it can be difficult making ends meet. The Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP) offers help with winter heating bills. In addition, LlEAP-qualified applicants receive a valuable discount on Northwestern Energy natural gas and electric bills— year round. You also may be eligible for our free weatherization program. To learn more, please call your local | Human Resource Council, or ¡ Northwestern Energy at 1-888-467-2669. M i d intmg F h tMww.northwastomwMrgy.com/4fMrgy Universal System Benefits (USB) tunt» support Northwestern Energy low-income programs.
