Great Falls Fire Rescue

06/24/2026

We see our Fire Prevention Bureau crew out and about sharing safety messages to all ages! 👊🏼

06/23/2026

GFFR's Training Tidbit: Seeing Beyond the Smoke

What do you see in the first photo? Almost nothing.

In a real life fire, smoke can reduce visibility to near zero in seconds. Firefighters often operate in environments where they cannot anything while they perform search and rescue tactics. That's why today's training had emphasis on operating safely and effectively when vision is limited or completely lost.

The second photo shows the same spot with one of the tools firefighters use to navigate these conditions, a thermal imaging camera.

While the naked eye sees only smoke, the thermal imager detects heat signatures, allowing our firefighters to locate victims, identify fire conditions, locate exits, and maintain orientation inside a structure.

Firefighters don't rely on Sight alone. They use a combination of:
🚨Thermal imaging cameras
🚨Hose lines
🚨Wall contact and orientated search techniques
🚨Radio communication and accountability procedures
🚨Repetitive training in low-visibility environments

Today's training reinforced a simple reality: When conditions are at their worst, firefighters must be prepared to move toward danger when everyone else is moving away.

When visibility drops to zero, training takes over. Firefighters rely on their skills, their crews, their communication, their ability to make critical decisions, and specialized tools like thermal imaging cameras to locate victims, identify hazards, and find their way safely through the structure.

Photo 1: A view of what GFFR's firefighters were training in today.

Photo 2: The same view as Photo 1, including a view through a thermal imaging camera identifying what the naked eye cannot see.

Photo 3: A hallway in the building GFFR was training in.

Photo 4: The same spot in the hallway, moments later with GFFR’s training smoke generator.

06/23/2026

Great Falls and Cascade County residents: tomorrow, fireworks can be sold in the county. Fireworks sales and discharge of approved fireworks within the city are allowed from July 2nd to July 4th at midnight. With that being said, GFFR wants to remind everyone to practice fireworks safety and have a bucket of water handy to ensure spent fireworks are cool and out. For more fireworks safety tips, please see the information from the Consumer Product Safety Commission

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06/23/2026

🚨GFFR Training Alert 🚨 GFFR Crews will be training in the area of Central Avenue and Park Drive today between 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. There will be a presence of apparatus and firefighters in the area while the structural training is underway.

06/21/2026

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads and father figures in our community, especially those serving on duty today.

Thank you for your dedication, leadership, and the example you set both at home and in service to others. We wish you a safe and enjoyable Father’s Day from all of us at Great Falls Fire Rescue. 🚒❤️

06/19/2026

We're excited to be part of the first annual Disaster Response Expo 2026 next Saturday, June 27th! We look forward to seeing you there!

06/18/2026

GREAT FALLS FIRE RESCUE
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Great Falls Fire Rescue 406-727-8070
[email protected]

DATE: June 18, 2026

GFFR RESPONDS TO EARLY MORNING HOUSE FIRE AT 308 29TH AVE NE

Great Falls, MT – At 5:21 a.m., Great Falls Fire Rescue was dispatched to a reported structure fire at 308 29th Avenue NE.
Officers from the Great Falls Police Department arrived first and confirmed that all occupants had safely evacuated the residence. Truck 2 was the first Great Falls Fire Rescue apparatus on scene and found the attached garage fully involved with fire extending into the attic space of the home.
Truck 2 crews initiated an exterior fire attack while awaiting additional resources. Upon the arrival of Engine 4, firefighters transitioned to an interior attack through the garage and quickly extinguished the main body of the fire. Engine 1, arriving shortly thereafter, was assigned to extinguish the attic fire and successfully brought it under control with minimal extension.
Firefighters had the fire under control within 15 minutes of their arrival.
The investigation determined that the fire originated on the exterior of the residence near the garage. The fire subsequently extended into the garage and then into the attic space. The garage sustained extensive fire damage; however, firefighters successfully prevented the fire from spreading into the living areas of the home. As a result, the residence sustained only minor smoke damage.
The fire has been determined to be accidental in nature. Investigators concluded that the cause was the spontaneous combustion of wet grass clippings.
Great Falls Fire Rescue would like to remind residents that, while rare, wet grass clippings can generate heat as they decompose. If large amounts of grass are piled together, that heat can build up and potentially lead to spontaneous combustion.
To help prevent this, allow grass clippings to dry before piling, bagging, or disposing of them whenever possible.

06/18/2026

🚨Working structure fire🚨 crews are on scene on 3rd St and 29th Ave NE. Please avoid the area

05/10/2026

🌷Today, we recognize and honor all mothers and the many forms that love, sacrifice, and motherhood can take.

We celebrate the moms raising children, the grandmothers and stepmothers, the women who serve as caregivers and protectors, and those whose strength holds families together every day.

We also hold space for those for whom today may be difficult. We honor the women who have experienced infertility, pregnancy loss, the loss of a child, or the absence of a mother they deeply love.

To all who carry the joys and heartbreaks that can come with this day, please know you are seen.

From all of us at Great Falls Fire Rescue, Happy Mother’s Day.