Small fire inside Western Bee
EMILY MESSER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 9 months AGO
City of Polson Fire and Polson Rural Fire District responded to a potential building fire on Tuesday morning at the Sawdust Silo building at Western Bee Supplies Inc. (Emily Messer/Leader)
Emily Messer joined the Lake County Leader in July of 2025 after earning a B.A. degree in Journalism from the University of Montana. Emily grew up in the rolling hills of southeast Missouri. She's lived in Montana since 2022 and honed her reporting craft through the UM J-School newspaper and internships at the RMEF Bugle Magazine and the Missoulian. At the Leader, she covers government, business, education, agriculture and community news. Contact Emily Messer at [email protected] or 406.883.4343 | October 14, 2025 12:30 PM
Around 10 a.m. on Oct. 14 a report of a building fire at Western Bee Supplies Inc. rang out across dispatch and quickly the City of Polson Fire Department arrived on scene.
When the first unit arrived on scene, smoke could be seen coming from the roof of the sawdust silo building, City of Polson fire chief Clint Cottle said. Cottle explained the first report said there was a small electric motor on fire.
By about 10:30 a.m. he reported that the fire was not causing any further damage, and crews were working on mop up. Due to the fire being a potential building fire, mutual aid was requested from Polson Rural Fire District.
Shortly after mutual aid was requested from local law enforcement and Polson Ambulance was requested to stand-by. This led to 15 people responding and two structure engines on scene.
ARTICLES BY EMILY MESSER
Looking Forward: A Note from Your New Editor
I would like to take this opportunity to officially introduce myself. My name is Emily Messer, and I am honored to be taking on the role of editor at the Lake County Leader.
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