Over the Christmas weekend, Great Falls Fire Rescue responded to a series of fires in the downtown area.
At 7:50 p.m. Dec. 23, GFFR responded to a grass/brush fire that was near the railroad tracks behind the Children’s Museum.
When Engine 1 arrived on scene, they found a small fire that crews quickly extinguished.
The fire caused minor damage to a tree and fence, according to GFFR.
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As Engine 1 was addressing the grass fire behind the museum, GFFR was dispatched to a fire that had occurred behind Tracy’s Family Restaurant on the corner of Central Avenue and 2nd Street.
Engine 2 arrived to find a new restaurant cooler wrapped in cardboard on a pallet that had been burned.
Someone had attempted to burn the cardboard but the cooler wasn’t damaged, according to GFFR.
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During their investigation, GFFR found that someone had intentionally placed a propane tank next to the pallet as it burned.
GFFR and Great Falls Police officers watched surveillance footage of the alley during which a male was seen coming and going multiple times during the time of the fire, according to GFFR.
At 8:01 p.m. Dec. 25, Engine 3 responded to a dumpster fire behind the Times Square building at the corner of Central Avenue and 6th Street.
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Firefighters contained the fire to the dumpster.
Two hours after the dumpster fire, GFFR was dispatched to a grass fire on River’s Edge Trail near the tennis courts/
GFPD was on scene and directed Engine 1 to the fire, which had burned a five foot by 30-foot section of vegetation along the trail, according to GFFR.
Firefighters used GFFR’s brush truck to access the trail and extinguish the fire.
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An ignition source wasn’t found in all four fires, the cause of which remains under investigation by GFFR and GFPD.
After the 2016 Vinyard fire, GFFR and other city officials realized the city edge is truly an wildland-urban interface creating additional challenges for firefighting.
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In response, the city purchased a brush truck that allows firefighters to “pump and roll,” a beneficial capability when responding to grass fires and preventing them from becoming major events like the Vinyard fire, then GFFR Chief Steve Hester told The Electric in 2017. The other engines at GFFR are designed for structure fires and must be parked before water will flow.
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The brush truck has a 500 gallon water tank and the Montana Department of Natural Resources installed the equipment on the back of the truck, which also has 4-wheel drive. DNRC officials also came to Great Falls to train GFFR on use of the new brush truck equipment when the department received it.
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The brush truck was first used during the summer of 2017.
