Great Falls Fire Rescue responded to a fire at the Great Falls Rescue Mission at 3:24 p.m. Nov. 27.
The fire was in the women’s shelter.
Crews arrived at 3:27 p.m. to find that the building occupants had evacuated and light smoke was coming from the basement, according to GFFR.
Morgan Bourbeau, the Mission’s womens director, and her staff, “responded appropriately in order to get all of the women residents evacuated out of the building in a timely manner. We are relieved that all the women are safe and that no one was injured or harmed by this small fire,” according to Carrie Matter, development director for the Mission.
GFFR’s Engine 1 crew entered the building and found a small fire in a basement storage room.
The crew extinguished the fire at 3:32 p.m., according to GFFR.
The fire was found to have started in a unit called the Bug Zapper, which is used to sterilize new occupant’s clothes and belongings, according to GFFR.
The fire was contained to the storage room but there is minor smoke damage in other rooms in the basement, according to GFFR.
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The upstairs of the building was not involved in the fire, and the Womens Shelter residents were able to return to that portion of the building, according to GFFR.
Matter said they don’t know the extent of the damage to the building quite yet, but it was mostly contained to the storage room.
Until further notice, the Mission is not taking any new intakes nor providing cold weather services.
The storage room contained basic needs toiletries, towels and all the belongings for one of the residents was completely lost in the fire, Matter told The Electric.
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If anyone would like to donate new shampoo, conditioner, soap, brushes/combs, tooth brushes, tooth paste, hair ties, chapstick, face tissue, bath towels and gift cards to replace the resident’s belongings, “we would be most grateful,” Matter said.
All donations for the womens shelter should be brought to the Great Falls Rescue Mission administration office at 408 2nd Ave. S., at the east entrance, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
