Havre fire chief retires, assistant fire chief steps down

Havre Fire Chief Mel Paulson is retiring from the Havre Fire Department today, and Assistant Havre Fire Chief Nathan Courtnage is stepping down from his position Monday, seemingly leaving the city without a municipal fire chief.

Paulson said Thursday morning that he doesn’t 100 percent want to retire, but he feels he needs to.

“I just feel it’s time,” he said.

Courtnage said Thursday he cannot talk about why he is stepping down.

Paulson said they will help as much as they can with the leadership transition and said it needs to be done as swiftly as possible.

Hill County Disaster and Emergency Services Coordinator Amanda Frickel said she was told Havre Police Chief Gabe Matosich would be given control of the department, which she said is a serious problem as far as a contract with Rural Fire District 1.

Havre Mayor Doug Kaercher and Matosich had not responded to calls and emails requesting information and comment on this story by Thursday evening, the printing deadline for this story.

Frickel said Matosich does not meet the requirements to be considered a fire chief and should a fire chief not be named by the time Paulson leaves that may put the city in breach of its contract with Rural Fire District 1, a ring of land in Hill County around city limits to which Havre Fire Department provides fire suppression services.

Frickel said the contract requires that a municipal fire chief must be on staff at all times, and this could jeopardize that contract.

Frickel was asked by Havre Daily to provide details on the requirements to be a fire chief, but had not provided that information by printing deadline Thursday evening.

RFD1 Board Chair Steve Jamruszka said Thursday morning that he is not sure if Paulson and Courtnage leaving their positions would void the contract, and he is looking into that.

Jamruszka said he is confident they will get something worked out, but that he needed more time to look into the situation.

The contract in question stipulates that the Havre Fire Department will provide fire suppression services to the district, as rural and volunteer fire departments in the area do not have the training or equipment to safely combat structure fires like they do grass fires.

The city had a contract with RFD1 for many years, but had been requesting a new contract that would require the district enforce fire safety codes in its boundaries, with then-Mayor Tim Solomon saying that the lack of enforcement in the district was becoming a serious safety concern to the department.

After a year of conflict, RFD1 drew up the current contract which includes the appointment of a fire chief, or an equivalent thereof, to enforce fire codes like the city wanted.

Frickel said that contract also includes a stipulation that Havre must have a municipal fire chief at all times, otherwise the contract would be breached, and RFD1, at least on paper, would not have any fire suppression services for structure fires.

During the conflict over the contract last year Havre Fire Department leadership said it would still provide fire suppression to RFD1 but would bill the district directly, an expensive prospect for the district long term.

Frickel said she doesn’t know if this will be the case this time around should the contract be broken, but there will be a meeting between the city, RFD1’s board, the Hill County attorney, the Hill County Commission and the local fire departments on how to move forward.

She said RFD1 also just gave the city $190,000 to keep the contract for fire suppression going.

Paulson said he’s not sure how his departure and Courtnage stepping down will affect the RFD1 contract but it is a serious question.

“There’s definitely some issues,” he said, “... The city needs to get these positions filled expeditiously. It can be a public safety issue.”

Frickel said if RFD1 residents lose their fire suppression services due to a breach of contract the city may well be opening itself up to a lawsuit as well.