Helena Firefighter Named Montana Firefighter of the Year

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation firefighter has been named the state’s 2019 firefighter of the year, a newspaper reports.

Chris Spliethof, 36, of Helena has served with the department since 2008, The Independent Records reports.

Spliethof’s most recent post has been as the acting fire management officer for the Helena area.

Spliethof served as the incident commander for the initial stage of the North Hills Fire in the mountains north of Helena in July.

Spliethof oversaw the fire program at the Central Land Office in Helena, which included examining fires and ordering necessary resources.

“I like working outdoors and it’s a cool job,” Spliethof said. “You’re not in the office all the time, you get to see different states, people are new and every fire is different.”