For over a hundred years, a proud tradition of volunteer firefighting has been the core of the Belgrade/Belgrade Rural Fire Service.

With only a bucket brigade, two hose carts, a Model T hook and ladder truck, and a chemical extinguisher truck, the Belgrade Volunteer Fire Department was organized December 12, 1906. For decades, the annual Fireman’s Ball was its primary fundraiser. In 1936, Belgrade took delivery of its first fire engine, a newly manufactured Champion Fire Apparatus. The Department was housed in the Belgrade Municipal Building until the 1959, when a new station was built with volunteer labor and donations to house a newly acquired 1957 Ford 500 GPM mid-ship pumper.

Belgrade Rural Fire District was formed in 1947 and provided the first rural fire protection in Gallatin County and one of the first in the state of Montana. Primarily formed to extinguish range fires, the district also provided structure fire protection with its “ultra-modern fire truck.” Since inception, the town and district have operated jointly as one fire department. The District entered into an agreement with Belgrade that the town would have use of its truck in exchange for housing, maintenance, upkeep and manning the truck for rural fires. This relationship has been of great benefit to both agencies, in that together they are able to provide a higher level of service for the citizens than either could do separately.

The Reese Creek Fire Service Area was formed in 1978. The first truck was provided by Montana State Lands, a decommissioned 1962 weapons carrier that community members converted into a wildland fire truck. Also in 1978, a single-bay garage was built with community help next to the one-room Reese Creek school house. The Department averaged only three calls a year. In 1996 RCVFD received an ISO Public Protection Class rating of 9. This was accomplished by obtaining a 1970 Mack fire engine from Chalfont Volunteer Fire Department in Pennsylvania.

The Springhill Fire Service area was formed in October 1987, for the primary purpose of wildland fire suppression. Reese Creek and Springhill save since been annexed into the Belgrade Rural Fire District.

"Building the firehouse was a great summer of true community participation by a group with a common interest to provide fire protection. Workers were served home cooked lunches by other volunteers. Others, including our children, painted and cleaned. The Todds were generous to donate the land with a 99 year term lease. We finished the basic building in the fall of 1988, after breaking ground in May, and held a big party. More work continued to be done as we had the money and workers."

In 2006, the Belgrade Rural Fire District changed its name to Central Valley Fire District to better reflect all the communities served by the District.