Hill County fire districts receive grants from the BNSF Railway Foundation

Four Hill County rural fire districts received recognition - and cash grants - for all their hard work during the Montana wildfires of 2017 Wednesday morning.

BNSF Railway Foundation awarded the Kremlin, Gildford, Hingham and Inverness rural fire districts $2,500 each, Ross Lane, the regional director of public affairs for BNSF, presented representatives of the districts with the checks during a meeting in the Hill County Commission office in the Hill County Courthouse.

Lane started the presentation by expressing the railway's gratitude for Havre, Hill County and the Hi-Line. He said BNSF and the Hi-Line not only have a lot of history together, but have a strong community partnership.

Lane told the representatives from the fire districts how important the Hi-Line is to the BNSF, and how much the company appreciates all that the districts do for their Hill County community.

Lane said they picked these fire districts because the foundation values the input of local employees. The Havre BNSF employees felt strongly about the hard work of their community volunteer fire departments. Lane added that many of the Havre BNSF employees work closely with the rural fire districts and believed they deserved these grants.

Hill County Commission Chair Mark Peterson said he agreed with this sentiment. He said there are "a lot of good people in this county" and Hill County is communities helping each other. He said he knows that when a fire happens the county's volunteer fire departments will always be there to help.

Lane said the grants do not attach many restrictions and the rural fire districts can use the money how they see fit, such as on training or new equipment.

Lane added that due to a miscommunication, Rudyard was left off the list for the grant, but that is being corrected and a check for the Rudyard Rural Fire District would be delivered to them soon. He hopes, in fact, that "the check is in the mail now," he said.

Elton Byxbe from the Inverness Rural Fire District said the district hopes to update its radios and trucks, while Roger Haas of the Hingham Rural Fire District said that this money will go a long way in their district, helping them with training and maintenance.

Gildford Rural Fire District representative Troy Hansen said he hopes the district members can update their trucks and buy more equipment; their long-range goal is to get a brush truck in the future.

Kody Peterson of Kremlin Rural Fire District said his district is interested in training for specific railroad incidents, as their district would like to be able to benefit and give back to the railroad company that gave them the grant. Peterson added that this money is equal to 20 percent of their annual budget, "a substantial amount of money," and he wants to thank the BNSF for all they do.

Along with the five districts in Hill County, three other rural fire districts will also be receiving grants. These rural fire districts are Joplin, Chester and Shelby.