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. 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. โWe’re filled to the gills with fire apparatus and ambulances and wildland engines,โ said Prahl.
