Fire Destroys Montana Landmark, Owner Injured

A weekend fire destroyed a landmark business in eastern Montana and the owner remains hospitalized after suffering smoke inhalation.

Fort Peck’s Gateway Inn Bar and Supper Club, built in 1933, caught fire at about 11:30 a.m. Saturday. Glasgow assistant fire chief Brandon Brunelle says customers were in the building at the time, but were able to escape.

Valley County Sheriff Glen Meier says owner Mike French ran back into the building to get some keys and suffered smoke inhalation. He was hospitalized at Billings Clinic, where a spokeswoman in the intensive care unit said he was listed as stable on Sunday.

Brunelle says the cause of the fire is still under investigation.