History...                         Mission...                       Why we are here...

Bigfork Fire Department was founded on August 18, 1941 by a group of 24 volunteers. The Department serves a small rural community of approximately 4300 people 45 miles south of Glacier National Park along the shores of Flathead Lake, the largest natural fresh water lake, west of the Mississippi River

In the early 1970s a local Dentist, Doug Smith, began responding to medical emergencies with Bigfork Fire Department. He organized community CPR classes in Bigfork beginning in 1974.  This was later followed by Advanced First Aid Classes in 1976. Several Fire Department personal and community members enrolled in the first AFA class leading to the formation of Bigfork Quick Response Unit. Bigfork QRU registered with the State in 1978 and became a licensed transporting ambulance in 1984. Defibrillation and Advanced Life Support level care was introduced to Bigfork in 1984. In 1990 the department was one of five Advanced Live Support licensed ambulances in the State of Montana.

July 16, 2010 marked another historic day in history of Bigfork Fire Department and Bigfork Ambulance. The two groups merged to become Bigfork Fire.

The Bigfork Fire mission is “We will work towards reducing the need for emergency service response by emphasizing fire and accident prevention while emphasizing individual and community safety, and will train to be ready to provide the best emergency response services possible for those in need.” It is a priority to deliver the very best Customer Service to our customers. Our human and technical skills are the foundation of Bigfork Fire. The value we place on technical and human skills is the same. Membership in the Bigfork Fire family carries with it a host of responsibilities and expectations; the awareness and commitment to meeting them will ensure the fulfillment of our mission.

“Customer Service Excellence” is a goal of Bigfork Fire. Accomplishing this goal requires commitment, planning, practice, creativity, leadership, smart application, networking and continual refinement. Customer service excellence, in concert with being nice and being well trained, is the way we can be the best we can be.