Stillwater County, Montana, has it all — mountains, lake basins, rolling plains, and river valleys. The land is used for everything from farming and ranching to the only platinum and palladium mine in the country.

The county covers roughly 1,800 square miles, with approximately 9,000 people calling it home. The low population density leads to small, tight-knit communities. In many ways, life is idyllic and peaceful. But over the course of a year, the county experienced back-to-back-to-back disasters — two major floods and a train derailment. Communication and strong emergency management were key to efficiently responding to and recovering from these historic events.

Consistent communication for public safety

David Stamey spent most of his career in the Washington, D.C., region, working across jurisdictions and state lines to respond to emergencies and planned events. Seeking a change of pace, Stamey moved to Montana, where he became the chief of emergency services for Stillwater County in 2022.

When he arrived in Stillwater, he discovered that public safety agencies across the county were using a patchwork of cellular carriers. Wanting consistency in communication, he began transitioning county public safety agency phones to FirstNet, the nationwide public safety broadband network.

“Montana is the fourth largest and fourth least populous state. That can pose challenges for communication,” explained Stamey. “I began talking with FirstNet to see how we could fix some of the communication problems that we knew we had.”

Historic flooding highlights need for reliable communications

In June, with just 40 days on the job, Stamey faced his first major challenge — a historic 500-year flood that devastated residential areas and infrastructure. The flood prompted a federal disaster declaration and required a coordinated response from public safety.

Stamey requested a FirstNet deployable network asset to provide additional connectivity during the response and recovery efforts. Deployables are stationed around the country, and FirstNet subscribers can request these assets — at no cost — to boost connectivity during disasters, major incidents, and planned events.

After the flooding event, Stamey continued to explore how FirstNet could further support the county’s ability to communicate.

Push-to-talk enables interoperability for county agencies

In talking with the county sheriff’s office, Stamey learned that there are a lot of places where deputies couldn't talk on their portable radios. “As a law enforcement officer, you can't run back to your vehicle every time you need to talk on the radio. So, we put everybody on FirstNet’s enhanced push-to-talk,” explained Stamey.

Push-to-talk enables first responders to use their phones to communicate as if they are talking on a radio. They can talk one-on-one with other responders or broadcast out to a group easily. Stamey enhanced these capabilities by integrating FirstNet connectivity with the sheriff’s office’s land mobile radio system. This means responders using push-to-talk on their FirstNet-enabled devices can speak to responders using a portable radio.

These capabilities make a difference, even with everyday efforts. This is evident during prisoner transports for the sheriff’s office when deputies take arrestees to neighboring counties. In one instance, a prisoner was taken across the mountains into Wyoming, a 90-minute drive from Stillwater. The deputy was able to talk to dispatch using push-to-talk on their phone throughout the entire drive.

FirstNet supports disaster response

In June 2023, Stillwater County experienced a flash flood, prompting another federal disaster declaration. Three weeks later, a train crossing a bridge over the Yellowstone River derailed, submerging multiple rail cars and dumping molten sulfur and asphalt into the river.

Due to the magnitude of the train derailment, hundreds of responders from local, state, and federal agencies arrived in Stillwater County for response and mitigation operations. Stamey immediately requested a FirstNet deployable asset due to the limited cell service in the area, and a SatCOLT, or Satellite Cell on Light Truck, was deployed to the site.

“Within hours of requesting the asset, we had it set up,” said Stamey. “It provided communications for not only us and our command staff, but all the folks that came to help.”

The Montana Department of Environmental Quality was one of the agencies called in to respond. Shasta Steinweden was the state on-scene coordinator who assessed the impact of the derailment on natural resources. Having connectivity from the SatCOLT allowed Steinweden to relay information to other state officials in Helena, providing reports and updates directly from the field. “It was a game changer as far as being able to communicate,” said Steinweden.

Preparing for tomorrow with FirstNet

In less than 18 months, Stillwater County experienced multiple high-profile disasters — as many as some counties will see in 10 or 15 years. It was a sober reminder that emergency managers must be prepared for anything.

Stamey attributes the successful response to the planning and preparedness that happened in advance. Specifically, having strong, reliable communications helped ensure everyone present was able to collaborate and coordinate when it mattered most. He continues to seek new ways to incorporate FirstNet and broadband technology into operations so that Stillwater is prepared for whatever the future holds.