On July 2nd at 6:38 pm, a tragic fire erupted at 1109 2nd Ave SW, resulting in the loss of an elderly female resident, her dog, and her cat. The Great Falls/Cascade County 911 dispatch center received reports of the fire burning on the exterior of the house and dispatched Great Falls Fire Rescue’s A Platoon at 6:39 pm. Truck 2 from Fire Station 2 arrived on the scene at 6:42 pm and discovered the house and detached garage engulfed in flames.
Upon learning that an occupant might still be inside, the firefighters from Truck 2 attempted to enter the structure but were met with untenable conditions and had to shift to defensive operations from the outside. The battalion chief called for a second alarm, which brought in off-duty personnel and assistance from the Montana Air National Guard and Malmstrom Air Force Base fire departments to help manage the situation.
Shortly after 7:00 pm, GFFR crews had extinguished most of the flames from outside, allowing Truck 2 to enter the home, where they found the elderly woman deceased, along with her dog and cat.
Deputy fire marshals determined that the fire originated in the yard and subsequently spread to the interior of the house. This determination was in line with information provided by an eyewitness who saw the fire in the grass outside of the home moving towards the house. The cause of the fire has been determined to be unintentional, with the ignition source more than likely to have been fireworks, which were reported to have been discharged in the area around the time of the fire.
Author: Karen Anderson
Karen is the Editor-in-Chief overseeing all news operations at Foxys Publishing Co. She also loves photography and spending time with her dogs.
