Governor Gianforte Tours Missoula’s Firefighting Innovation Center

Missoula, MT (KGVO-AM News) - Governor Greg Gianforte visited Missoula on Wednesday and made a special stop at the DNRC (Department of Natural Resources and Conservation) Equipment Development & Communications Center and learned how the agency is saving taxpayer funds by strategically redesigning and refitting firefighting vehicles.

Gianforte was hosted by A.J. Angelo, the DNRC’s Equipment Development and Communications Program Manager.

Following the tour of the facility, Gianforte learned how Angelo and his team are designing and equipping firefighting equipment at a fraction of the cost of new vehicles.

“They’re getting ready for fire season, and the state's done a tremendous job, DNRC in particular, in aggressive attack on all fires,” he said. “Here at the DNRC facility in Missoula, we really stretch taxpayer dollars. They're building fire engines for a fraction of the cost of what it would cost to buy one on the open market.”

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Gianforte provided a specific example of the savings Angelo and his team provide at the DNRC Wildland Fire Equipment Center on Spurgin Road.

“These (firefighting vehicles) are used by DNRC in initial attack across the state,” he said. “They're also used by local firefighting agencies. So they do a tremendous job, and when you design them and build them yourself, you get exactly what you need. These chassis we're looking at right here are federal government surplus, and what would cost this tanker on the open market, three-quarters of a million dollars, they're able to produce exactly what we want for only $69,000.”

At the close of the demonstration by Angelo and his team, Gianforte repeated what he learned at the recent fire season briefing, that this will be a challenging fire season.

“We got the report that it's going to be a hot, dry summer,” he said. “We're already starting to see fires, and I just want to say to Montanans, we're all going to get outdoors and recreate this summer. The majority of our fires are human-caused. I would just ask people to be careful when they're out in the woods.”

Click here to see the governor’s original fire season briefing.

Gianforte was also in Missoula to recognize the recipient of the 2024 Montana Governor’s Veteran Commendation, Ron Milam, United States Navy, at the Western Montana State Veterans Cemetery.