GREAT FALLS — Great Falls Fire Rescue responded to a fire in an apartment building in downtown Great Falls on Thursday afternoon.
The fire was reported a little after 3:30 p.m. in the Curry building at 112 6th Street North, directly behind the Mid-Town Motel and Perkins Restaurant.
Firefighters say it started on the second floor, and two people were rescued from the building — one from the second floor and one from the third.
That person on the third floor was an elderly woman who was taken down by ladder.
Both of them suffered from smoke inhalation and some burns, and were taken to Benefis hospital.
Nathan Stillsmoking was nearby when the fire broke out; he had just left the building when he smelled smoke, and then he called 911.
Stillsmoking said that one of his friends, Jeffrey, then went inside the building to help evacuate residents, knocking on doors and helping people get out safely.
All residents of the complex evacuated the building.
The cause of the fire is not yet known, nor is the extent of the damage to the building.
Curt Isakson is a 35 year veteran of the fire service. Curt is currently a Battalion Chief for Escambia County Fire Rescue. Previously worked 9 years with the Pensacola Fire Department where he was assigned as the Company Officer on Rescue 31. Curt’s fire service experiences started at a young age as a Junior firefighter with the Midway Fire Protection District and rose through the ranks to Captain. He has worked in volunteer, career, and combination departments.
Curt has held all ranks up to Battalion Chief and been assigned to operations, training, inspections, and was Chief of Special Operations for 7 years. Curt owns and operates County Fire Tactics that covers a very diverse range of fire service topics, as well as Firefighter Rescues, a site that documents rescues made by firefighters around the country.
He has annual contracts with numerous departments to provide standardized monthly training for these departments that respond daily together under an automatic aid agreement. Curt teaches nationally to include; FDIC, Firehouse Expo, Firehouse World, Orlando Fire Conference, Atlanta Fire Conference, Bowling Green State University, and owns/operates the annual HROC, COBC, WOTF, CFT ODP on Pensacola Beach. He is a Florida Certified Fire Officer, Instructor, Inspector, Arson, and FLUSAR.
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