Bills — For decades, churches across Montana have provided shelter for those experiencing homelessness and a place to spend the night out of the cold.
The Billings fire inspector recently declared that many of these buildings weren’t big enough for an overnight stay, and that social services were struggling to fill the gaps.
Lisa Donnott, executive director of Yellowstone Valley’s Family Promise, said the organization received a cease and desist order from the city of Billings’ fire inspector in November.
“We are telling you that there are no congregations within the city limits that meet fire codes to temporarily house someone,” Donnott said.
“He said one person cannot sleep in one church, not even one night.”
The Family Promise of Yellowstone Valley operates under the model of an interfaith congregation that rotates space, food preparation and volunteer time, allowing people experiencing homelessness to attend each church for about a week at a time. You can also stay overnight at the , and get help with hiring, budgeting, and searching. for housing, etc.
Donnott said the city enforces regulations requiring fire and alarm systems in line with other accommodations like motels, which many churches don’t have. This forced the Family to turn down his promise to help 50 of his families.
Discrepancies between churches and statutes, notably Senate Bill 195, extend to senators exempting certain buildings, including many churches, from installing fire sprinkler systems.
Billings city spokesperson Victoria Hill said the city is waiting at this point for legislators to decide what to do with the bill, and plans accordingly once they make a decision.
On Monday, members of the Senate Committee on Local Government heard a bill introduced by Republican Senator Jeremy Trevas of Great Falls.
“The problem here is that local governments have gone beyond their normal powers under state laws and regulations,” said Trebas.
In testimony from opponents, firefighters opposed the bill, saying the problem at hand was the potential danger to residents and first responders in the event of a fire.
“We sympathize with the points made by the bill’s sponsors and the points made by family commitments, and believe that faith-based organizations should be encouraged to serve marginalized and underserved communities. We fully respect the efforts put into the opposition to Senate Bill 195,” said Ole Hedstrom, president of the Montana Firefighters Association.
Hedstrom gave the example of firefighters across the country who have died responding to fires in non-compliant buildings.
“In firefighting, it’s often said that many standard operating procedures are written in blood because changing the way they do business has resulted in serious injuries and deaths,” Hedstrom said. . “The same can be said for building codes.”
The First Congregational Church also offers accommodation, but is not directly affiliated with Family Promise. Her Cari Boiter, president of Billings Continuum of Care, worked with firefighters to find a one-space solution. This allowed us to evacuate 31 people each night.
“When we talk about code compliance and fire issues and all that stuff in the weeds, we forget about people,” Voiter said. people, they need to be able to get out safely in the event of a fire, but they can’t be on the streets either.”
The Senate Committee on Local Government has said it will vote later on whether to proceed with the bill.
