GFFR training rookie, fourth female firefighter; working on training center upgrades
Great Falls Fire Rescue’s newest rookie is going through training as the department copes with a lack of training facilities.
On Oct. 16, Shaney Fox went through four evolutions of live burn training with on-duty engine crews at GFFR’s training center 1900 9th St. S., in a structure that will largely be demolished in the coming months.
Fox, 22, did two years with the fire department in Big Fork, her hometown. She and three other Big Fork firefighters went to California to assist with the Palisades Fire in January, according to local press.
Fox said she was looking for a full time firefighting job and interviewed at GFFR and said, “everyone was so amazing and great. I knew this was the department I wanted to be at.”
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Fox said she took a random wilderness survival course in school that was taught by two EMTs. Then she took an EMT class, eventually falling in love with firefighting.
“I knew that’s what I wanted to do,” she said.
In her seventh week of rookie training, she said the GFFR program was thorough with more repetitions and she felt more confident in her skills than she did previously.
Fox is the department’s fourth female firefighter and she said that women have to be in better shape and stronger to do the physically demanding job, but “no one treats you differently.”
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During the Oct. 16 training, Kris Whitaker was coordinating the live burn training.
He said that Fox’s training for the first few weeks had been broken into components of firefighting that was culminating in the live burn training that pulls those components together, including how to don their personal protective equipment, to setting up the hose and making entry into a structure.
For live burns at the training center, GFFR uses wooden pallets and a fire starter material with no known toxic materials, plus a smoke machine to simulate fire conditions and zero visibility.
The training tower at the training center was demolished in July and the large blue structure GFFR has used for live burn and rescue training, will also be demolished.
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The shipping container attached to that structure that GFFR has rigged as its burn box for live burn training will be maintained.
GFFR also purchased a smaller training prop that they can use at the training center or haul into fire stations for training over the winter.
Nate Schmidt, GFFR assistant chief of support services, is running the rookie academy and said that the four evolutions of live burns on Oct. 16 focused on different aspects of firefighting, including fire behavior, then a version with the hose they use for most structures in Great Falls, a version with their longer hose used to reach structures further from the road and both right hand and left hand searches.
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GFFR’s training facility includes a five-story training tower that has been condemned and largely unusable since the spring of 2020 and in November 2024, the two remaining roof props also failed; a general training building that currently has limited uses without electricity or heat; and a classroom building that gophers have damaged.
With those limitations on training, GFFR has been getting creative in finding other structures in recent years. They’ve used city parking garages for some training and buildings that were about to be demolished or renovated.
Schmidt said the Park Manor downtown, across from the Civic Center, had been great in allowing GFFR to use their building for high rise training and the city Park and Recreation Department had offered the Multisports parking lot for driver training.
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He said area residents may see more activity and requests from GFFR to use yards and structures around town for training while the training center is under construction.
“We can’t stop training,” he said.
Jeremy Virts, interim GFFR chief, told The Electric that he was scheduled to update city commissioners on the project during their Nov. 18 work session.
He said city engineering will have a good timeline by then and that they were finalizing permitting for demolition of the blue general training building on Oct. 16 and were working with Steel Etc. on some containers.
In July, commissioners approved a $65,000 contract to Montana Materials and Construction doing business as Helena Sand and Gravel Inc. for the demolition of the training tower at the training center and disposal of the materials.
In April, commissioners voted 4-1 to apply for a $2.5 million Montana Board of Investments intercap loan to finance GFFR’s training center renovations.
City staff applied for the state loan for up to $2.5 million and are using the 3.5 mills that were redirected from the Great Falls Public Library to the city’s general fund through a renegotiation of the library’s management agreement.
The loan was approved in June.
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In April, former GFFR Chief Jeremy Jones, who starts as deputy city manager later this month, told The Electric that the project can be broken into three parts, one for the existing tower demolition, the second for the groundwork and third construction of the new training tower/prop.
Jones said GFFR was working with city public works, which will do the asphalt work in house.
They’re also discussing using the north end of the property toward the scouting office as a stormwater management facility since the area has drainage issues.
Jones told The Electric on July 21 that they’re trying to collaborate with public works as much as possible to address as many issues at once.
Once the tower is demolished, crews can do the asphalt work.
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They’re hoping to get those components done this year and then build the new training center tower next year.
Jones said that he’s assembled an internal committee to review options from a few vendors to determine their design options within their budget, then GFFR will go through the formal bid process.
That timeline won’t help GFFR with its next ISO audit and the rating could drop since they’ll get dinged for the lack of training center, Jones said.
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A drop in ISO rating could affect residential and commercial insurance rates.
In February, City Manager Greg Doyon said he had authorized GFFR to purchase a mobile training prop as a stopgap.
The mobile training prop is $59,850 and the GFFR Foundation purchased the trailer to move it between fire stations and other training locations for about $12,000.
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“This training prop is not a substitute for the full rebuild of our training facility but serves as a critical stopgap measure to sustain training efforts until the new training center is completed. The prop will provide hands-on training opportunities, ensuring that our firefighters are prepared to respond effectively to emergencies,” according to GFFR’s budget worksheet for the purchase. “This strategic investment ensures that GFFR personnel remain highly trained and ready to serve while we work toward the long-term goal of rebuilding our dedicated training facility.”
The prop fits within a standard parking space, so it can be transported to each fire station for training in different districts and can be used within the engine bays during inclement weather, according to GFFR.
The prop is being purchased with funds collected through enforcement of their ambulance transport performance contract, which are unrestricted and GFFR typically uses those funds toward large items.
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