A fire just outside of Belgrade left a family of three looking for a place to stay, at least for most of the day Tuesday.
Firefighters say they acted quickly to keep the entire house from burning.
The Central Valley Fire Department, along with Bozeman City Fire, Hyalite Fire and Gallatin County Sheriff’s deputies, rushed to the scene on the corner of Thorpe Road and West Cameron Bridge Road just after 8 am.
The fire marshal says the flames started from a mechanical malfunction with the home’s wood stove flue.
The fire quickly followed the flue up into an upstairs chimney.
Crews worked quickly to save some pets from the fire and get horses away from the outside of the house.
They also had to cut the electricity and gas from the home, making it temporarily unlivable, not a good thing during the stay-at-home order.
"We've got resources in the county, the Red Cross is one and then we've got some other resources in the county that could help some folks find a new place,” says Bruce Hennequin, fire marshal for the Central Valley Fire Department. “Of course, we know with the social distancing and the stay at home orders and so forth, it's going to be a little more tedious than normal, but the resources in the county are strong and we'll make it work.”
Fortunately, the fire marshal says the family should be able to move back into the home after the damage is assessed.
No one was hurt, but the department says several cats may have found a way to escape from inside during the ordeal.
