Great Falls Fire Rescue was dispatched to a structure fire at 4:34 p.m. Aug. 27.

The fire was in a vacant house at 1409 8th Ave. S.

The battalion chief was the first to arrive on scene at 4:39 p.m. to find the garage in the alley fully engulfed.

When the first engine crew arrived on scene they attacked the fire from the exterior of the garage and was able to knock it down and then checked to ensure the fire had not extended to other portions of the structure.

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The house and garage had been vacant for three years as the owners had passed away, according to GFFR, and had become a well-known squatter house but no one was in the house at the time of the fire.

The fire caused extensive damage to the house and GFFR’s investigation determined that electricity and gas had been shut off to the house and garage.

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GFFR determined the fire to be human caused, but has not yet determined if it was accidental or criminal in nature.

To ensure city fire coverage, GFFR initiated a single-engine call back of off-duty personnel and requested mutual aid from the Malmstrom Air Force Base and Montana Air National Guard fire departments while responding to the house fire.

The fire is the 23rd structure fire in Great Falls so far this year, closely following a house fire on Aug. 25.

The first 22 structure fires resulted in $1,676,799 of property loss and $856,079 of content loss, according to data from GFFR.

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By the end of July 2024, there had been 22 structure fires in Great Falls, with none in August, and 41 total for the year.

Last year’s property loss totaled $1,999,550 and content loss totaled $732,360.