Rapid Deployment Shelters Are Changing Emergency Response

At dawn on June 24, 2023, the quiet riverside town of Reed Point, Montana, awoke to a disaster. A train derailment led to the sudden collapse of a bridge over the Yellowstone River, sending 10 rail cars crashing into the water and releasing an estimated 400,000 to 440,000 pounds of molten asphalt into one of America’s most iconic rivers.

It was a moment that demanded speed, strategy, and strength—and FORTS was there.

As emergency response teams scrambled to assess the environmental fallout, FORTS Rapid Deployment Shelters were mobilized on-site to serve as mission-critical mobile offices. These fold-out rigid units were quickly set up at the scene, giving local, state, and federal agencies an immediate centralized command post—a place to communicate, coordinate, and take control of a fast-moving environmental emergency.

In 2025, this incident stands as a powerful example of how rapid deployment shelters are redefining what it means to be "response-ready."

While traditional trailers and tent structures may take days to arrive and longer to set up, FORTS units arrive flat-packed and can be deployed in under an hour. Once assembled, they offer a rugged, climate-controlled space equipped for everything from incident command and digital mapping stations to triage bays and overnight accommodations.

At Reed Point, the FORTS shelters didn’t just serve as offices, they became the heartbeat of the response effort. Teams from multiple agencies used them to monitor environmental conditions, manage logistics, and plan the complex cleanup of the Yellowstone River. Their durability and adaptability allowed them to perform in unpredictable field conditions, standing firm in a chaotic landscape.

And that’s the future of emergency response. Infrastructure that shows up fast, stands up strong, and supports teams when every second counts. From wildfires in the West to hurricanes in the South and industrial disasters across the nation, FORTS shelters are proving to be mission-critical tools in the evolving world of disaster management. The derailment at Reed Point was tragic, but it also revealed a deeper truth which is that emergencies don’t wait for ideal conditions, and neither should our response systems. FORTS shelters aren’t just temporary—they’re transformative.

Because in the face of disaster, preparedness isn’t a luxury, it’s a responsibility.