When Rob Torrey stepped down as the Superior Volunteer Fire Department Chief last December, it left people wondering who would fill this critical community position. That’s when long-time Superior resident and volunteer firefighter, Steve Temple stepped up to become the next chief in February after serving as the assistant fire chief.

“Rob was very knowledgeable and had incredible skill sets from being a career firefighter,” said Temple. “He accomplished a lot of good things in terms of training and that’s going to pay dividends for the department and we will build on that and make it a continuing priority.”

Steve and his wife, Peggy, moved to Superior in 2005 and quickly assimilated into the community. He became a volunteer firefighter in 2006 and over the years has been the airport manager, became a board member for the airport, as well as on the Mineral Regional Health Center Board. He was also the President of the Lion’s Club for four years, which is the group who puts on the county rodeo every summer.

His career was as a city manager and he had fire Chiefs work for him and so he’s had a top-down view of the department, “when I came here it was fascinating to see things from the bottom up,” he said.

John Woodland was the fire chief for ten years, prior to Torrey’s tenure and is still heavily involved with the group, “he’s a wonderful leader for our volunteers and he knows how to keep them motivated. I’ve learned a lot from him and he still gives guidance and responds to calls.”

It was through Woodlands guidance that Temple was able to get training through the Montana State University Fire Academy in 2010, as well as training through Washington State Fire Academy in 2012, “that all led me to being in charge,” he said.

Through Temple’s ten years of volunteering he’s found himself on hundreds of fires and calls to traffic accidents along interstate 90. He was involved when the town rebuilt the fire hall and were able to purchase new equipment with grant funding, which further invested his desire to become the chief.

Having come from a background as a city manager, the most comfortable part of the job is on the administrative end. Acquiring and keeping volunteer firefighters is a challenge for the small station. He said they recently lost two volunteers who went onto firefighting careers with Columbia Falls and the Missoula Rural Fire Department. When he started volunteering they had over 25 on the team, now they are down to 15.

Another challenge with the job is how Mineral County is structured with areas in “no man’s land” where it’s difficult to get fire protection to people in outlying rural areas. A challenge not just seen in Mineral County, but throughout the state. He will be attending a statewide conference in October and wants to see how other departments deal with this issue. For people interested in volunteering, or if they have questions or concerns, he will be available all day on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the station or people can call (406) 822-4900.