MISSION, SD (KELO.com) — At approximately 5:35 PM on Saturday, August 1st, 2026, Mission Volunteer Fire & Rescue was paged for a report of a structure fire involving two apartment units at Sunrise Apartments in Mission.
Firefighters arrived at the 700-numbered block of apartments and found heavy fire pushing from two apartment units, along with smoke coming from the roof and adjoining apartment units. Information indicated that the block was abandoned.
With limited initial staffing and a heavy volume of rapidly spreading fire, Incident Command ordered searches of the adjoining apartment units before transitioning to a defensive strategy, which pulled all crews back from the building for safety.
Incident Command requested mutual aid from the Valentine Volunteer Fire Department, which responded across the state line with an engine, aerial ladder, and manpower to supplement the Mission crews.
At the height of the incident, both the Mission and Valentine departments had aerial master streams in service, prompting the City of Mission Maintenance Department to boost municipal water pressure to support firefighting efforts.
Firefighters remained on scene throughout the evening, mopping up and managing hotspots with the assistance of a backhoe from the city’s maintenance department. The last fire department unit was back in service at 10:09 PM.
Agencies that responded to this incident include Mission Volunteer Fire & Rescue, Valentine (Nebraska) Volunteer Fire Department, Rosebud Sioux Tribe Ambulance Service, Mission Police Department, Todd County Sheriff’s Office, Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services, City of Mission Maintenance Department, and Cherry-Todd Electric.
The incident followed an active day for Mission Volunteer Fire & Rescue. Firefighters responded to Sunrise Apartments around 2:00 AM Saturday to a different apartment block for two separate fires, which firefighters quickly extinguished.
Later, at around 4:00 PM Saturday, crews responded to assist the ambulance service with an extrication at serious crash involving a passenger vehicle and a semi-truck at the junction of US Highways 18 and 83 two miles west of Mission. One firefighter was injured at that scene and self-transported to the hospital.
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