GFFR responds to fatal house fire and storm overnight

A house fire killed and displaced about a dozen people in the early hours of October 5th.

Great Falls Fire Rescue was dispatched around 2 a.m. to a structure fire at 1701 20th St. S., an apartment complex.

GFFR said the cause of the fire was under investigation.

The Red Cross has been contacted and is assisting other residents.

Last night, GFFR issued a second alarm for the apartment fire, meaning other firefighters were called back to duty to assist with the response, Chief Jeremy Jones told The Electric.

GFFR discusses needs and challenges with the Public Safety Committee

GFFR is still reviewing calls from the overnight wind event and Jones said four engine companies were called back to assist on October 5, in addition to the standard four constantly on-duty engine companies.

The fire at the home broke out again several hours later and GFFR responded, Jones said.

GFFR crews responded to more than 100 calls after 7 p.m. on Oct. 4 and continued to respond Saturday morning.

“As people wake up and see the damage from last night’s wind event, please be patient and know that NorthWestern Energy has been notified of many of the lines that remain currently down. “Our emergency dispatchers have been inundated with calls and are doing an excellent job gathering information and prioritizing emergency services to handle the most critical calls first,” GFFR said.

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Both GFFR and NorthWestern advised the public to consider all downed power lines as live and to maintain a safe distance.

NorthWestern crews worked throughout the night to respond to the wind event across the region.

According to the National Weather Service office in Great Falls, wind gusts began to increase around 7:30 p.m., gusting to 26 mph, and the temperature was 73 degrees.

According to the NWS, the temperature had dropped to 61 degrees at 8:15 p.m. and sustained winds reached 43 mph with gusts to 56 mph.

Winds remained in the 40 mph range with a recorded maximum speed of 51 mph at 9:25 p.m. before calming. According to the NWS, the peak gust was recorded at 73 mph at 9:20 p.m.

Wind speeds settled in the 20 to 30 mph range overnight, with gusts in the 30 to 40 mph range.