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A lawsuit filed by U.S. Representative Denny Rehberg against the city of Billings may have far-reaching impact.

Rehberg claims negligence caused by the city of Billings resulted in a fire which destroyed 600 acres of his ranch, and he has brought suit against the Billings Fire Department.

Now, two Helena-area fire department chiefs are saying cases like this could affect their operations.

Bob Drake Fire Chief for the Tri-Lakes Volunteer Fire Department says, "We are balancing 1000 things and the number one priority is life safety. So even though we are afraid of being sued and all the other things, it certainly pales in comparison to sitting across the table from some one's wife or husband and telling them that they are dead or injured."

Drake says a lawsuit against a fire department not only has a financial impact on the station but it also strains the firefighters. He adds, "When you start into depositions, and the trials, and all that kind of stuff, you're pulling volunteers out of their jobs, yet again for something that is absolutely non-productive to our mission."

Drake says the mission first and foremost aims to protect life and property. But he adds, "The financial aspect can't be ignored." He hopes if the city of Billings loses the case, it won't affect other local fire department's insurance premiums.

Bill Wegner, Fire Chief at the East Valley Fire Department, says, "You always have that liability. You risk a lot to save a lot, but you risk very little to save a little."

Wegner added that if the Billings loses the case it would be an eye-opener for local departments. He says it is already tough to get people to step into the role of incident commander and with added pressure of litigation it could be even more difficult.

Drake commented "It's demoralizing and it just takes a tremendous amount of time, people are afraid of the unknown of going in in front of attorneys and judges and juries and all that stuff. And it is not something that they are used to doing. so there is a burden on the volunteers yet again."

Both Drake and Wegner agree that when there is negligence, litigation can be an effective tool, but it shouldn't be used lightly because the impact could be wide-spread.

Click below to read the stories our sister station, KTVQ, wrote on the Rehberg lawsuit.

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