NEIHART — After a cabin fire earlier this month, employees at Showdown Montana in Neihart are coming together to support the victims.
On the night of January 16th, a cabin near the resort caught fire. The following is from a GoFundMe page created by Showdown:
- “On the evening of January 16th at 7 PM an off the clock employee called Showdown and let us know that Kallie‘s cabin was in flames. Kallie and Rickey had stopped to let Kallie‘s dogs out and noticed the sidewall of the cabin was in flames. Neighbors and others tried to help put the fire out. Doors were opened, but the inside of the house was filled with a thick black smoke, and no dogs came out when called. Shortly after the doors were open the entire cabin burst into flames. Kallie tried desperately to save her dogs and Rickey had to restrain her and pull her away. Both girls inhaled a lot of smoke and were singed by the fire in that process. They received oxygen on scene and were transported by ambulance to WSS.
- Kallie endured a severe trauma and is still in shock. Thankfully her lungs are mostly OK. Rickey was transported by Mercy flight to Benefis in Great Falls around midnight as she was wheezing and there was a small tear in her lung wall that had allowed some air to enter her thoracic cavity. Rickey had a CAT scan and some additional x-rays and thankfully it was determined that the air pocket was resolving on its own. They admitted Rickey to monitor her progress and she was released later in the day. Kallie and Jamie lost nearly all of their personal belongings in the fire in addition to Kallie’s two precious dogs, Boof and Seamus. Kallie and Rickey won’t be able to work until they have recovered. Jamie will be gone from work to support Kallie.”
Kallie, Rickey, and Jamie are all okay, and the support of the ski resort and the community has helped immensely.
“Obviously, it’s a long road for them to get everything back that they lost, so we set up a GoFundMe page,” said Showdown Marketing Director Avery Patrick. “There are also two bars in White Sulphur Springs that did a spaghetti feed and a fundraiser, that was the Lane and the Stockman bars, so the whole community is just pitching in. We’re also hoping to do...or planning to do a fundraiser March 28th up here at Showdown.” Details of the fundraiser have not yet been finalized; check the Facebook page for updates.
Other employees have been working extra shifts and donating their tips in the wake of the fire, hoping to provide as much support as possible to Kallie, Rickey and Jamie. While Showdown was not forced to close after the incident, it’s taken a lot of people to make up for the lack of employees. General Manager Katie Boedecker said that what made it so easy for people to step up and help out is that the employees of Showdown are more like a family.
“The support was incredible from our community,” Boedecker said. “Not only our employees, family and friends came out of the woodwork, but also our guests. The tips that they poured into the buckets that we have, and just the donations were incredible. There was just so much love and care for the kids. They know them and they really care. We felt very, as a group, we felt very supported and loved through that time.”
