KALISPELL, Mont. – Over the summer months, the Kalispell Fire Department has had to close or reduce services more frequently due to short staffing. Now, it sounds like these closures will happen less often.
The Kalispell City Council approved a request to add two more firefighters in this upcoming year’s budget.
This will make it easier to get people to fill in when someone calls out sick or gets injured.
Earlier this summer, Kalispell firefighter Don Thibert shared how the department was working with the bare minimum. When people called out, it was hard to get back up with firefighters either accruing too much overtime or just being burnt out.