Jamestown Rural Fire Department handles multiple calls, no injuries reported

Three calls in three days sent Jamestown Rural Fire Department crews to U.S. Highway 281 and a southeast Jamestown business, and Rural Fire Chief Brian Paulson said no injuries were reported in any of them. The stretch of responses included a roadside call, a fire at West End Hide, Fur, and Metal, and another highway dispatch just two days later, a workload that quickly pulled firefighters in different directions across Stutsman County.

The first call came at 9:54 a.m. Tuesday, July 7, when three units and six firefighters were sent to mile marker 63 on U.S. Highway 281. The department did not give a fuller public breakdown of that incident, but the response shows how quickly a rural fire district can be tied up on the highway corridor that runs through the Jamestown area.

Later that night, at 10:07 p.m., crews were dispatched to West End Hide, Fur, and Metal at 3445 82nd Ave. SE after alarm systems went off and the property owner checked the building and found smoke inside. Paulson said the fire caused water and smoke damage but only minimal structural damage, and the building was saved. The cause remained under investigation on July 8. The scene drew 23 firefighters and eight apparatus, and Jamestown Fire Department mutual aid was requested about an hour and a half into the incident because crews were running low on air bottles. Jamestown Area Ambulance, the Stutsman County Sheriff’s Office and the North Dakota Highway Patrol also were involved in related responses.

A third call came at 10 a.m. Thursday, July 9, when three units and 11 firefighters were sent to mile marker 63 on U.S. Highway 281 south of Dakota Engine Builders. Taken together, the calls showed the range of work Jamestown Rural handles, from highway responses to industrial sites and alarm-triggered fire scenes, often with multiple agencies added in. The department says it has protected life and property since 1949 and covers one of the largest fire districts in North Dakota, a footprint that matches the scale of the county itself.

Stutsman County was organized in 1873, has a population of 21,593 and covers 2,298 square miles. With Jamestown sitting at the intersection of Interstate 94 and Highway 281, the county’s main travel routes place added pressure on rural fire coverage, especially when a single week can demand units, firefighters and mutual aid on more than one front.