Updated at 2:30 p.m. July 26

Great Falls Fire Rescue responded to a late night fire at National Laundry on July 24.

A report of a sprinkler water flow alarm came into the joint city-county dispatch center at 11:05 p.m. July 24 at 700 Crescent Circle.

GFFR crews were dispatched at 11:07 p.m. and the first engine was on scene at 11:13 p.m., according to GFFR. The ladder truck arrived one minute later.

On arrival, the engine crew didn’t see visible smoke or fire, but the ladder truck crew spotted smoke coming from the roof.

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Since smoke was visible, the call was upgraded to a full structure fire response and two more engines were dispatched to the scene at 11:15 p.m., according to GFFR.

An engine crew made entry into the building through an east side door at 11:16 p.m. and encountered heavy smoke with zero visibility, according to GFFR.

In the building, firefighters found two National Laundry employees who were trying to put out the fire. They’d been notified through the fire alarm monitoring company.

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Firefighters escorted them out of the building where they were assessed by Great Falls Emergency Services. Both employees refused further medical care after the medical assessment, according to GFFR.

The battalion chief struck a second alarm at 11:23 p.m. based on conditions in the building.

The second alarm calls back two full off duty engine companies and a battalion chief.

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Firefighters reentered the building and found a fire “being held in check by the building’s fire sprinkler system,” but crews still had a difficult time getting the fire knocked down. They got the fire under control at 11:59 p.m., which was the same time it took to fill the second alarm, according to GFFR.

Since all on-duty fire crews were on scene at National Laundry, the remainder of the city was left without fire protection for nearly an hour as off-duty personnel had to report to work and be assigned to duty, according to GFFR.

The cause of the fire was spontaneous combustion of mop heads, according to GFFR, which has been documented in other fires at laundry facilities.

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Fire damage in the building was limited due to the sprinkler system and without it, “the entire complex could have been lost,” according to GFFR.

As of 3:30 p.m. July 25, total damages to the building were unknown and staff was working to reopen the business, according to GFFR.

On July 26, GFFR said that National Laundry was back up and running for cleaning, but the office is closed through July 31.

Mike McIntosh, GFFR assistant chief for fire prevention, said there have been a few fires over the years at National Laundry.

He said one burned down their downtown location in 2003, before his time at GFFR.

There was a fire at their current location a few years after they moved in, McIntosh said, and the cause was the same as the July 24 fire but didn’t do as much damage as last night’s fire.

McIntosh said that depending on the occupancy classification for buildings, fire sprinkler systems may be required under city fire code.

If the occupancy use of an existing building changes, or a certain percentage of a building is being remodeled, the building has to be brought up to current codes and standards, McIntosh said, but there are a number of factors that dictate when sprinklers are required.