Miles City Firefighters IAFF Local 600

04/08/2026

02/24/2026

This story is from 2019. These are not new issues. How your elected leadership responds could be.

Miles City government has one core job: protect its people.

Public safety is not a luxury. It is one of the most basic responsibilities of local government.

For years, city leadership has delayed hard decisions about maintaining essential services. Now we are seeing the consequences.

Here are the facts:

➡ Firefighter staffing levels have not kept pace with community needs.
➡ Fire equipment has aged beyond recommended service life. It's being called a "wish list" by some.
➡ The fire station required replacement after years of deferred maintenance.
➡ Fire, EMS, and Police have been doing MORE with LESS for decades.

These are not sudden problems. They are the result of long-term planning choices, or rather, a lack of.

Firefighters did not create the budget deficit. Firefighters do not set tax policy. Firefighters do not approve spending priorities. Your elected leadership does.

If a city fails to maintain its roads, citizens notice. If a city fails to maintain its emergency services, families pay the price when seconds matter.

Government should fund its core responsibilities first: police, fire, EMS, and basic infrastructure. Everything else comes after that.

Running a fire department is not about profit. It is about readiness. You cannot schedule emergencies. You must be prepared for them.

There is a City Council meeting tonight. Even if fire services are not listed on the agenda, recent public statements by the Mayor and his supporters about eliminating or outsourcing your fire department deserve public scrutiny.

If you believe government should focus on its basic duties, show up. Ask questions. Demand accountability.

Meeting info:
February 24, 2026 at 6:00 PM
City Council Chambers and online at zoom.us
Zoom ID: 4062343462 | Passcode: 59301

Public safety is not political. It is foundational.

02/17/2026

Montana is facing the same issues.

02/12/2026

Did you know?

Federal safety law requires a minimum number of firefighters to be on scene before entering a burning building. These standards exist to protect firefighters from becoming victims themselves. In most cases, four (4) firefighters are required before interior firefighting begins. If someone is believed to be trapped, firefighters may begin rescue sooner, but full safety staffing must be established as quickly as possible. These are federal safety regulations, not local policy choices.

When your firefighters talk about "Staffing" this is part of that equation. Our work requires people, because people deliver that service. And even though, we sometimes get to "sleep" while on our 24 hour shift, we still have to be up, ready, and rolling to emergencies as quickly as 2 minutes after being alerted.

Your fire and EMS is designed for resilience to save lives. Not for profit.

We are grateful to serve you. We are grateful for your ferocious and caring support. We wiil keep educating and showing up. Thank you.

02/11/2026

This is NOT the answer to budget problems, we didnt create. Tell your elected leaders to OPPOSE Mayor Chris "Butch" Grenz plans to DEFUND YOUR Fire & EMS services.

02/10/2026

Mayor Butch Grenz proposal to "Defund the Fire Department"

On January 27, during a City Council meeting, newly re-elected Mayor Butch Grenz publicly raised a serious and unexpected proposal that would fundamentally change emergency services in Miles City.

Without a formal study, without community input, and without consultation with the professionals who currently provide these services, the mayor suggested:

🚨Eliminating the Miles City Fire Department
🚨Contracting fire protection to a neighboring volunteer department
🚨Privatizing Miles City’s public, not-for-profit ambulance service

This proposal was not listed on the meeting agenda that night. And while fire services are not listed on the agenda for the upcoming meeting either, it is important for the public to understand that major policy shifts have already been introduced without warning.

The Miles City City Council meets Tuesday, February 10, 2026, at 6:00 PM, both in person and via Zoom.

CITY OF MILES CITY – Regular Council Meeting
📍 City Council Chambers
💻 Zoom: zoom.us
🆔 Meeting ID: 4062343462
🔑 Passcode: 59301

These are not small or administrative changes. Eliminating a staffed fire department and privatizing ambulance transport would have clear, real-world impacts on emergency response times, firefighter and patient safety, insurance rates, and outcomes during fires and medical emergencies.

Saving lives and protecting property is not a part-time job. It is not a for-profit business model. Emergency services are time-critical, labor-intensive, and highly technical. They require trained professionals, adequate staffing, and strong public oversight.

We encourage the community to stay informed, ask questions, and participate. We will continue to provide education about what these changes could mean for Miles City and why professional fire and EMS services are essential to public safety.

Thank you for your attention and engagement.

02/05/2026

Politics?

A quick reminder. We are your Miles City firefighters. We do not set budgets and we do not decide tax policy. That is set by your Miles City elected officials and Fire Chief.

What we do bring is expertise. We provide your emergency services, and we advocate for the people, equipment, and facilities needed to deliver fast, effective, and transparent response when you need us most.

When we speak up about service improvements, changes, or deficiencies, it is not guesswork. Our recommendations are based on laws, standards, and science. Those standards exist because of more than a century of fire service experience, and sadly, the lessons learned the hard way, and lives lost before safer practices were established.

Our work is proven. It is time-critical, labor-intensive, and increasingly more technical. And it is focused on one thing: saving lives and protecting property.

We respond to over 1,700 emergencies a year. These include medical emergencies, structure and vehicle fires, motor vehicle crashes, and numerous other emergencies. We provide 24/7/365 response for the city of Miles City & 175 contracts located outside the city limits (these contracted homes and businesses pay for this service). We do this work because we love it. We are not here to get rich. We are not here to build an empire. We are here to serve others.

We wont back down on advocating for you. Thank you for your support.

❤️

02/02/2026

When it comes to the work of your firefighters, to saving lives and protecting what people have built over a lifetime, it really comes down to three things:

✅Getting there fast.
✅Getting there with enough well-trained people.
✅Making the right decisions in moments where information is scarce, conditions are changing by the second, and the consequences of getting it wrong can be measured in lives lost.

The work of your firefighters is time critical, labor intensive, and highly technical. It demands consistent judgment under pressure and teamwork when there is no room for error. That is the reality of what firefighters face every day, and it is why firefighter staffing, training, and response times are not talking points. They are the difference between tragedy and survival. We have always been up to the challenge and responsibility and that wont change.

Thank you Miles City. We ❤️ you.

02/02/2026

DID YOU KNOW?

In national polls, firefighters consistently rank among the most trusted professionals in the country. Elected officials, by contrast, routinely rank near the bottom.

That trust is something we never take for granted. Earning it and keeping it is central to who we are. Serving others in this profession can be difficult, but we are deeply grateful for the opportunity to do this work.

We will always fight for what is best for our community. Thank you for following our page, and please consider sharing it with others.

Thank you.

01/18/2026

From: Jake Richards, Captain D-Shift

January 17, 2026

At approximately 1624 , Miles City Fire and Rescue was dispatched for a structure fire in the 1600 block of Kadzie, with smoke and fire reported in the residence.

An all call for personnel was issued. The crew arrived on scene to find a mobile home with heavy smoke showing from the roof and eves. E-7’s crew performed an interior fire attack. Fire was extinguished and a search was performed.

Crews remained on scene performing overhaul, checking for extension and clearing smoke from the building.

A single adult occupant assisted three children out of the residence at the time of the fire. A fire inspector was assigned to provide a thorough investigation. The cause of the fire was found to be an improperly installed chimney for a wood stove, leading to an attic fire.

MCFR responded with 5 members (an engine, command vehicle, and ambulance). CCFD responded with 3 members (a wildland engine, support vehicle, and water tender).

The Local 600 Benevolent Fund is providing assistance to the family, with lodging, clothes and food.

Thanks to the swift and coordinated efforts of all units on scene and highly trained personnel, MCFR and CCFD responded efficiently and safely extinguishing the house fire and returning in service to answer 911 calls.

There were no working smoke detectors in the home. MCFR and CCFD will install and inspect smoke detectors in your residence. This is a free service and you can contact either fire station for assistance. Working smoke detectors save lives.