Small fire inside Western Bee
EMILY MESSER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 6 months, 1 week 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 on a farm in the rolling hills of southeast Missouri and enjoys covering agriculture and conservation. She's lived in Montana since 2022 and honed her reporter craft with the UM J-School newspaper and internships with the RMEF Bugle Magazine and the Missoulian. At the Leader she covers the St. Ignatius Town Council, Polson City Commission and a variety of business, lifestyle and school 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.
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