Big Equipment shop a complete loss from Monday's fire

Officials say a fire at the Big Equipment shop - the company's second in two years - will be a complete loss. 

"The building is going to be a complete loss, some of the contents will be able to be salvaged," Havre Fire Chief Mel Paulson said.

Paulson says the cause of the fire is still being investigated, but Big Equipment owner Ron Harmon said that when employees arrived at the shop on County Road 860 Northwest off U.S. Highway 2 at 6 a.m. Monday, the boiler room was on fire.

"I mean it's unprecedented to have a fire like we did two years ago and then have a fire again two years later," Harmon said. "It really sets you back and makes you wonder why? But at this point, all mechanical things can go south on you and break and, quite evidently, we've had that happen."

Big Equipment's original location on U.S. Highway 87 south of its intersection with U.S. Highway 2 burned to the ground Dec. 24, 2017.

The company specializes in working on large farm equipment, especially Big Bud Tractors. 

Harmon bought the Havre-based Big Bud company in the 1970s and continued the manufacture of the locally designed four-wheel drive articulated tractors.

The business closed in the 1980s and Harmon opened Big Equipment to service tractors.

After the business' building on U.S. Highway 87 was declared a loss from the 2017 fire, Harmon relocated his offices downtown and started using the space on County Road 860 for work on the equipment.

Harmon opened the new offices for the company in its previous location on U.S. 87, but kept the shop work on the County Road 860 Northwest facility.

The fire in the shop was reported 6:06 a.m., Monday.

Paulson said Havre Fire Department dispatched all of its trucks to the fire as well as one ambulance and 15 personnel.

Other fire departments also responded to the fire, he said, with Chinook Fire Department, Kremlin Rural Fire Department, Box Elder Rural Fire Department, Bear Paw Volunteer Fire Department and Gildford Rural Fire Department assisting.

Paulson said Hill County Sheriff's Office also assisted with traffic control.

In addition to Havre Fire Department's four trucks and one command vehicle, other departments brought six trucks and three command vehicles, he said.

He added that there were no injuries from the fire.

Paulson said he wanted to thank the other departments for their assistance.

"It was a really good joint effort again on a big building," he said. "Square footage per firefighter, we were outnumbered and having those other departments there, that's why we were able to do what we could do and at least get it to where there were some savageable contents."

Firefighters gained control of the fire at about 8 a.m., Paulson said. He added that firefighters were still fighting hot spots until the late afternoon.

He said Havre firefighters left the scene at about 5:30 p.m. 

The wind played a large factor in the beginning, he said. When the firefighters first arrived on the scene the wind, cold and dark were factors in trying to get the fire under control. Once the wind died down and firefighters were able to get in and press the fire.

He added that when firefighters first arrived at the fire it as about 12 to 17 degrees Fahrenheit and froze a number of the trucks.

Harmon said that employees arrived at the shop at about 6 a.m. and saw smoke coming from the building. Employees saw the boiler room was on fire and tried to extinguish it, but after the fire continued to grow they called the fire department. He added that he doesn't know what caused the boiler room to ignite. 

He said that the total cost of the has has not been determined, but estimates the loss to be anywhere from one million to two million dollars. He added that some items were destroyed by the fire, but thanks to the firefighters, some items made it out with and are still salvageable.

Big Equipment does not have any construction plans this time and for now will rent another building to help facilitate and accommodate its shop needs for the next few months, he said.

Harmon said that it is not as bad as it could have been, but it is hard. He added that Big Equipment had just recovered from the 2017 fire.

The Dec. 24, 2017, fire destroyed the sales office, parts department and shop. After the fire, the shop was moved to the location that burned Monday and Big Equipment constructed a dealership office and parts department located on U.S. Highway 87. Construction of the new dealership and parts department was completed earlier this year, opening in August.

"At this juncture we can't spend so much time wondering why," Harmon said. "... We are still going to be working to take care of our customers and also to let people know that we are going to be here and we are going to do everything we can to take care of both our customers and our employees, so that has not changed and will not change. This is a set back for us, that's for sure, but we survived before and we will survive again."