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Chief
John Montague
Cheney,
WA Fire Department
Chief
John Montague of the Cheney, WA Fire Department joined the fire
service at the age of 21 when he became a fire fighter with the
nearby Spokane County Fire District 3. His father was a fire fighter,
so it was a natural move for him. And since then, it’s been a series
of upward moves. In 1979. John Montague became Chief for the Cheney
Fire Department and has help institute many changes, including:
better equipment, EMT- Defibrulators and auto aid mobilized. 
The
Cheney Fire Department, which serves the town of Cheney in Eastern
Washington, is a modern amalgam of volunteers and paid staff. It
has 30 volunteers and 7 paid personnel. The Cheney Fire Department
has seen a slight increase in volunteer numbers. But it has not
been easy to keep volunteer numbers up in a region that is shifting
from a rural to urban, "as volunteers are settling down with families
and working jobs."
Chief
Montague is "always looking for good people." The training offered
by the Cheney Fire Department includes: CPR, Basic First Aid, Senior
Programs, and if there is a special request, they try and accommodate
the needs.
Would Chief Montague
recommend a fire service career for his own children? You bet, "as
long as it is for the right reasons. If they are not in it for the
flames and glory, and realize that it is a business, heavily involved
with politics, .then it is a good field."
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