Branson, MO – The quick response of a Branson, MO police officer armed with a fire extinguisher kept a fire at a commercial building from spreading. “We use the phrase big fires start small, small fires produce a huge amount of smoke and smoke is what kills,” Branson Fire Rescue Chief Ted Martin said. “When you look at this (fire), it was small, but it produced a huge amount of black smoke that a police officer was able to see, so he could make that call for help.”