Fort Shaw fire chief dies a month after crash

GREAT FALLS — A volunteer fire chief has died a month after being critically injured in a crash between a water tender and a fire truck as both vehicles responded to a grass fire west of Great Falls.

Dave Anderson, 66, a volunteer firefighter in Fort Shaw for 45 years, died Monday morning at Peace Hospice in Great Falls. He had been chief of the department for more than 30 years.

The Montana Highway Patrol says Anderson was driving a water tender on U.S. 89 on July 22 when he collided with a brush truck that was making a U-turn because the driver had missed a turnoff.

Cascade County Deputy Coroner Jason Boyd says Anderson died as a result of injuries suffered in the crash, along with cardiac complications.