Single dwelling fires are the most common event, though not the most calamitous. The Chapter has responded to an average of 32 house fires a year. Wildfires are the most common in the relatively arid Northern Rocky Mountains. Residential construction in forested areas has increased dramatically in recent decades, creating a serious threat to lives and property. Some dwellings are located up wooded mountain canyons that have only one road for entry and exit.
Transportation systems pose a chance of accidents at all times.
Highway, railroad and aircraft disasters must be anticipated. More than half of the towns listed above are situated on active rail lines. Most recently, April 1996, there was a chlorine spill from a railcar as it passed through Alberton. Many such hazardous materials are handled and used in scores of commercial, industrial, and government facilities within the chapter area, and they pass over rail and highway routes daily. Elemental chlorine is used at a pulp mill in tank car quantities 10 miles northwest of Missoula.