Christmas Eve fire chars Big Equipment

Local business

suffers millions in losses

A fire Sunday razed Havre's Big Equipment Co. facilities to the ground, resulting in millions of dollars in losses.

Havre Fire Department Chief Mel Paulson said the cause of the fire is unknown and the investigation is just beginning.

Big Equipment owner Ron Harmon, who said he was in Missoula visiting family when he got word of the fire, didn't see much good in speculating, adding that if he had to guess, the fire may have been sparked by a failed item in the shop. The losses, again loosely speculating, Harmon said was a "multi-million dollar loss."

Despite the expensive loss, the owner added, the most important company asset was untouched.

"The most valuable asset that we have at Big Equipment is people, and, fortunately, no one was hurt," Harmon said.

The business' work continues. As of this morning, Harmon said he may have already found office space and some shop space. He is looking at two additional shop locations.

Harmon said he arrived in town Sunday night, and, he added, before he went to bed, his insurance agent had already let him know about his coverage, making it easier to go to bed.

Big Equipment Co. employes 26 full-time employs and six part-timers, Harmon said.

They will continue working, doing the same work in different locations.

"None of our employees are in danger of losing their paycheck," he said.

Harmon said he was grateful for the response and the efforts of firefighters.

Fire department dispatch was notified about the fire Sunday at 2:18 p.m. Fire fighters were on the scene in five minutes, Paulson said.

Throughout the day, the entire fire department had responded, along with additional firefighters from nearby departments. Firefighters from the Kremlin, Box Elder, Bear Paw, Harlem and Chinook volunteer departments all came to help battle the blaze Sunday.

By the time fire crews first arrived, the fire had already engulfed a good deal of the building, Paulson said.

"It was pretty well going," he said.

The building housed lots of fuel - stored oil and equipment with fuel - that contributed to the fire growing so large so quickly.

The first objective, Paulson said, was to save and move out of the way any equipment that was exposed. Doing so also removed additional fuel.

The freezing temperatures and lack of municipal fire hydrants at 1287 U.S. Highway 87 made things more difficult, Paulson said. Water had to be continuously shuttled from the fire station to the fire. Although there are ways to prevent freezing, the temperatures made it more difficult to keep the water liquid.

By Sunday evening, although still burning, the fire was contained. Crews stayed on the scene until the next morning, Christmas Day Paulson said.

No injuries have been reported.

Harmon's Big Equipment Co. focuses on rebuilding and upgrading tractors, with its main emphasis on the Big Bud tractors built in Havre between 1969 and 1984. Harmon's former company, Big Bud, built the largest tractor in the world, the Big Bud 747, in the 1970s.

Harmon bought Big Bud from Wilbur Hensler and Bud Nelson in 1974 and continued to build Big Buds until 1984. After some difficulties with getting transmissions for the tractors, Big Bud closed, and Harmon eventually started Big Equipment.