Great Falls Fire Rescue is using the vacant Buffalo Saloon/Loading Zone building on the 2400 block of 10th Avenue South.

It’s part of their quarterly multi-company drill schedule and this quarter’s focus is commercial buildings and mayday response.

Jason Furr, GFFR’s deputy chief of training, said that they’re doing three iterations each day this week to use different scenarios and train on different skills.

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Their first iteration of the afternoon on June 13 was firefighters going to the roof to give a roof report, then falling through so other firefighters conduct a mayday response to find the downed firefighter, Furr said.

Commercial fire responses are different than residential responses, Furr said.

Firefighters don’t use the same tactics in a commercial fire due to the larger size and volume of a commercial space, which often has big open spaces and more sections that can conceal fires since smoke can be deceiving, he said.

Residential fire response is GFFR’s bread and butter and they respond to those calls more often.

It’s not often that GFFR is able to train on actual commercial buildings so they take advantage of the more realistic training.

GFFR responds to two house fires over last week

Furr said that the fire prevention bureau keeps an eye out for buildings that are slated for demolition or renovation and works with property owners to use those buildings for training when possible.

The Buffalo Saloon/Loading Zone is slated for demolition since being purchased by Discount Tire.

Buffalo Saloon/Loading Zone closed September 2022 and have been vacant since.

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City Commissioners approved an alley vacation for the project in December 2022.

Lonnie Hill in the city planning office said this week that they’re still working with Discount Tire on the project, but the company has not yet applied for a demolition or building permit.

Next week, GFFR will be training on vertical ventilation, forcible entry, and overhaul, which means checking a fire scene to ensure no fire remains.

GFFR used to train on some of those skills at their training center on 9th Avenue South, but the training tower was condemned and has been unusable for several years. That training apparatus wasn’t as realistic since it was a single piece of plywood installed in a open square on a second story roof structure.

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Furr said that in the Buffalo Saloon/Loading Zone structure, there were many layers and different roof types for more realistic training.

Vertical ventilation isn’t something local firefighters have to do often. Furr said he’s only done it a few times in his career.

Many of the GFFR firefighters haven’t had to do it before during their careers, Furr said, but when it’s required, they have to do it fast and well.

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They’re high risk low frequency events for the focus of this quarter’s training.

All GFFR firefighters are participating in the training on their shift day unless on a call. A Black Eagle volunteer firefighter participated on June 13 and a Montana Air National Guard firefighter participated on June 12.

Furr said Malmstrom Air Force Base’s fire department was also invited, but they had a major military exercise this week and might participate next week. He said they try to train with other local fire agencies whenever possible to share tactics, improve communication and be better prepared for any emergency response.

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They use smoke machines for the training and while it’s safe to breathe, it simulates real fire conditions of zero visibility, which can be disorienting, Furr said.

In the second iteration for the June 13 training, Furr said the scenario was a firefighter getting off the hose and getting lost in the building.

GFFR conducting training downtown [2023]

Furr said the training also allows firefighters who are moving into higher ranks to train in those positions to get more experience to help them in real world responses.