RED LODGE— Red Lodge Fire District 7 received approximately $2 million from a bill Congress passed Wednesday, which it plans to spend renovating its station and adding a new building.
Montana Congressman Troy Downing had requested the funding be included in the spending package within legislation that ended the government shutdown this week. The funding for Red Lodge was included in the Agriculture Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2026.
Watch to see how the district plans to use the money:
Red Lodge Assistant Fire Chief Torsten Prahl said Friday morning the money will go toward a new facility with a vehicle bay, which will allow the department to improve firefighter living quarters and the fitness center and expand meeting rooms and storage space.
“We're filled to the gills with fire apparatus and ambulances and wildland engines,” said Prahl.
Prahl said the current space forces firefighters to store their protective suits, called “turnouts”, near the vehicles, which exposes them to contamination from vehicle exhaust.
“When the vehicles get started up, we have diesel particulate matter that kind of embed themselves into our turnouts, and it's shown to be cancerous and not healthy for us,” said Prahl.
Prahl said the station also hosts medical trainings and firefighter classes, which require meeting-room space.
“This funding is really going to get us the capacity to keep doing that and have room for growth down the road,” said Prahl.
The facility details and construction timeline have not been finalized.
