Losses in Big Equipment fire in millions; cause unknown

The cause of the fire that burned an internationally-known custom tractor business to the ground Christmas Eve near Havre — the Hi-Line city’s largest blaze in three decades — remains undetermined, with several million dollars in losses.

“They couldn’t find a cause,” said Kelly Jones, assistant fire chief of the Havre Fire Department of the two-day blaze that destroyed Big Equipment Co.

Meanwhile, Big Equipment owner Ron Harmon said calls of support have been pouring in from customers from across the country and as far away as South Africa.

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“It’s really amazing,” said Harmon said, adding the business will continue but with some changes.

Big Equipment is a custom builder and rebuilder of large four-wheel drive Big Bud tractors, with customers in over 25 states, Canada and overseas including South Africa and Australia. 

“You could ask a farmer in France, he will know about the Big Bud,” Harmon said.

The fire was reported at 2 p.m. Christmas Eve.

The 38,000-square-foot facility was located at 1287 U.S Highway 87 in west Havre.

Firefighters from Havre, with assistance from Chinook, Harlem, Kremlin, Bear Paw and Box Elder volunteer fire departments, worked to douse the extremely hot-burning fire in below zero temperatures, which caused more than $3,000 in damage alone to the Havre department’s trucks and equipment, Jones said.

Hot spots continued to burn until 6 p.m. Christmas Day.

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In terms of square footage, it was the largest fire Havre has responded to in 30 years, Jones said.

The Havre Fire Department continues to investigate the fire, but the cause at this point is "undetermined," he said.

Losses are in the multi-millions of dollars, Harmon said.

“We have coverages that equal $7 million plus,” he said.

Combustibles and fluids in the building at the time have made it difficult to figure out what caused the fire, Harmon said.

“It was just very hot fire that consumed things to the extent that trying to determine the cause is nearly impossible,” Harmon said.

After the fire, three walls of a little office were all that was left standing.

For the time being, the business has rented two large shops with tools and equipment in Havre, where parts will be housed, Harmon said.

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Parts were lost in the fire along with tractors and a combine.

Headquarters are being set up in a separate office building.

The business should be fully functional by Monday, Harmon said. 

Harmon said he hasn’t decided whether he will acquire additional shop space or build a new facility on the land where the business burned.

He will use the loss as an opportunity to separate the dealer portion of business from the rest of the custom building and rebuilding part of the business, he said.

Commitments for spring 2018 will be met with alternative units so customers can hit the field running, Harmon said.

The business also is a dealer in multiple product lines with Versatile and SeedMaster the primary tractors but it's best known for the Big Buds.

Besides custom building the big tractors, Big Equipment also serves as a national and international parts warehouse for those tractors.

Big Buds are known for their large size and horsepower. One 1,100 horsepower tractor is called the Big Bud 747. The line is also known for its standard construction parts allowing to them to be rebuilt, Harmon said.

Big Equipment does not manufacture the tractors today, but once did.