What could be better than a big bowl of chili on a cool November afternoon? Add in a chance to win some prizes, a silent auction, and the opportunity to see what it takes to be a firefighter and you’ve got the Superior Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department’s Second Annual Two Hot Chili Pot, set for Saturday, Nov. 14, at Fire Station 1 on Cedar Street at 4 p.m. 

The event is a fundraiser for the Tarkio Fire Station, also known as SVFD Station 2, but it is also a chance for the community to have some fun and get better acquainted with the people who are ready to answer the call when uninvited trouble comes knocking. 

It is also a good opportunity to meet the department’s new chief, Craig Usher, who took over leadership of the Superior Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department on June 8. Usher came to Superior from San Diego County, California, four years ago where he served as a deputy fire chief for a rural fire department. After 38 years in the fire and EMS business, he had been thinking about moving and retiring. That retirement plan apparently didn’t last long. 

“I’ve been doing fire and EMS for 38 years,” Usher said. “I enjoy giving back to the community, so this is a great fit.”

One of the more interesting parts of this year’s event will be an optional obstacle course designed to give adults and kids a small taste of what firefighters do. 

“We try and put residents through a few portions of a training course that firefighters train on that they could do on a fire ground,” Usher explained. 

That might mean pulling a hose line full of water and aiming it at a cone, giving participants a chance to discover that a fire hose is considerably less cooperative once it is charged with water. Other activities have included what firefighters call “dummy-drags,” allowing people to experience the work involved in pulling someone from a burning building. 

Sledgehammers and tires have also been used to simulate the physical exertion firefighters face on the job. The adult portion of the course is still being finalized, but Usher said the idea is to give people a small glimpse into the physical demands of firefighting. 

For kids, the activities will be scaled down but will still include pulling a smaller hose, knocking down a cone, climbing around on the fire trucks and asking questions. 

“We just try and put that little spark in the back of their heads to consider this as a potential volunteer opportunity or career,” Usher said.

And that little spark is an important part of the event. 

The Superior Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department currently has 22 firefighters, but like most volunteer departments, more hands are always welcome. That doesn’t mean everyone who volunteers has to charge into a burning building. In fact, Usher emphasized that there are plenty of ways to help that don’t involve crawling into smoke and flames. 

“We can use people who can service our trucks, or they can do data entry, they can apply for grants,” he said. “Some people don’t want to go into a fire. I get that. You can come hold a stop sign at a traffic accident site. You don’t need to cut the car apart. We just need you to control traffic.”

In other words, there is a place for just about everyone who would like to lend a hand.

Meanwhile, the Two Hot Chili Pot is doing its part to help another piece of the department grow. The Tarkio Fire Station is currently operational near Round Mountain in a privately owned structure. 

The department hopes to eventually build a permanent station on land donated by the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. A well has already been drilled on the property. Money raised through the chili cookoff will help provide matching funds and pay for whatever is needed to move that project forward. 

Another method for revenue is when the SVFD helps neighboring agencies and responds to fires outside the their district. 

“When we take a district fire truck to these fires, we get compensated for the use of that equipment and the firefighters also receive compensation depending on who is running the fire,” Usher said. 

Those agencies can include the DNRC or the U.S. Forest Service. Home fires outside the district are handled under the department’s regular mutual-aid agreements, without compensation. As Usher pointed out, however, there is always a balancing act when sending crews and equipment elsewhere. 

“We always need to evaluate what we can sacrifice to support other fires while maintaining enough personnel and equipment to take care of our area,” he said. “The other stations will do the same thing for us if we need their assistance.”

Back at Fire Station 1, the immediate concern will be considerably more pleasant: chili. Last year, 12 competitors entered the chili contest, and there were no categories or complicated rules. The idea was simply to bring whatever kind of chili you wanted to make. That plan is still in place for this year’s event. 

“It was really good chili and really good conversations with community members and the fire staff,” Usher said of last year’s cookoff.

For one set fee, chili lovers will be able to sample as many of the entries as they care to, while also taking part in the silent auction and raffles. Donations for this year’s auction and raffle tables are still being gathered from local businesses, community members and department personnel. 

“Last year we had a large table full of donated items that were silent auctioned off or raffle prizes,” Usher said. “It’s all donated items from the community and from members of the fire department. If businesses care to donate items or give a hundred bucks to the cause it goes to the Tarkio Fire Station fund.”

So, whether someone comes for the chili, the prizes, the obstacle course, the fire trucks or simply the chance to visit with the firefighters who serve the community, the Two Hot Chili Pot offers a little something for nearly everyone. 

And that is exactly the point. 

A volunteer fire department is not just trucks, hoses and sirens. It is neighbors helping neighbors, whether that means fighting a fire, directing traffic, maintaining equipment, applying for a grant or simply showing up when help is needed. 

Usher hopes the chili cookoff will give residents a chance to see that side of the department. 

“I welcome everyone to come out, meet the fire department crews that are here servicing the community. Come meet me and ask any questions you may have. I’d like that a lot,” he said with a warm smile. 

There will be plenty of chili to warm things up.