Montana Department of Transportation Broadus Fire
The Montana Department of Transportation maintenance facility in Broadus employs five full-time and one part-time staff. At the site there is a small 1950's vintage building and a newer equipment storage building. During the evening hours one Friday in July, residents of Broadus were alerted to a fire. Individuals living in the neighborhood noticed heavy smoke coming from the small maintenance building at the MDT facility. They alerted the Broadus Volunteer Fire Department, who responded and quickly extinguished the fire. Fortunately the fire did not spread to other buildings.
The 50 year old building that housed the main office, a workshop area, and vehicles, was damaged beyond repair. Two GMC one-ton trucks, parked in the shop at the time, suffered severe damage to the cabs and chassis. A computer, office furniture, radios, base station, and tools were damaged, much beyond repair or cleaning. THE CULPRIT? A DRIP COFFEE POT! The investigation revealed that the coffee pot was not turned on at the time. The coffee pot was, however, plugged into an outlet as always.
