Sunday fire prompts renewed call for Big Bend station

A fire that destroyed a barn Sunday south of Great Falls has renewed calls to get the Gore Hill Fire Station at Big Bend Estates completed.

The fire at 65 Dune Drive is less than a mile from where the new fire station will be if it can get the extra $80,000 needed to fully finish and outfit the station, Gore Hill Volunteer Fire Chief Carl Thrasher said.

Thrasher said the fire was reported around 4 p.m. Sunday. It took his volunteer crew 17 minutes to get from the Gore Hill fire station near the airport down to Dune Drive, close to the Missouri River. Thrasher said that’s pretty good timing considering volunteers have to get called into the station and then get to the fire.

Thrasher said firefighters saw heavy smoke and fire in one half of the building when they arrived. The building was quickly engulfed.

“It went pretty quick,” Thrasher said.

The fire reportedly started in one of the horse stalls, but the cause of the blaze has not yet been determined. Thrasher said the building was a total loss and estimates damage to be around $200,000.

Gore Hill had assistance from Black Eagle, Vaughn, Sun Prairie and Ulm volunteer fire departments as well as Montana Air National Guard and Malmstrom Air Force Base. The Salvation Army sent a relief truck to keep firefighters fed and hydrated as they battled the blaze while temperatures reached 90 degrees and higher. They were on scene until 11:30 p.m.

Gore Hill Volunteer Fire Department hosted an open house for their new facility in May, but it is not yet operational.

Thrasher said the additional funds need to be raised to outfit the new fire house with the right equipment. And even if they do have all the right equipment, more volunteer firefighters who live close to the station are going to be needed to keep response times down.