GALLATIN GATEWAY, Mont. – What started as a truck fire spread to a steel commercial building in Gallatin Gateway which burned for several hours overnight Sunday, according to the local fire chief.
A 3-hour video condensed down to a 2.5 minute time lapse was posted on the fire station’s social media page.
“It’s the second largest structure fire we’ve had in the last ten years in our district,” said Gallatin Gateway Volunteer Fire Chief Jeremiah Hillier. “We had 29 pieces of fire equipment and 61 firefighters on scene throughout the whole evening and into early morning yesterday.”
In addition to the local volunteer firefighters, crews from Big Sky and Three Forks assisted.
Chief Hillier says crews were unable to fight flames from the inside because the roof collapsed not long after the fire spread to the attic space of the approximately 6,200 sq ft building.
“It trapped huge pockets of fire inside the steel building and access was impossible without putting firefighters’ lives at danger,” said Chief Hillier.
The building and truck are a complete loss. The cause of the fire is unknown but is believed to have started in the vehicle.
