Missoual Fire Department

The Missoula City Council on Wednesday officially confirmed nine new firefighters – a large rookie class funded in part by the recently passed fire levy.

As the Mobile Support and Crisis Intervention teams in Missoula enter another year, they continue tracking data to help right-size their response to calls involving a behavioral-health crisis, while working to better ingrate both 911 and 988.

In past years, the city has made deep investments into social services but little into fire. The fire department has requested a new station in the Mullan area for the past four years – a request the city has failed to fund.

While the Missoula Fire Department waits for November to see if voters will approve its request to raise $7 million annually through a new levy, it's also making plans to construct a new fire station and hire 20 new firefighters.

The Missoula Fire Department stopped a fire from spreading deeper into the Pattee Creek Market on Tuesday in a response that drew 20 firefighters and 10 units.