Electricity-related Great Falls house fire leaves occupants, multiple animals displaced

GREAT FALLS, Mont. – Several people and multiple pets were displaced in a house fire on Tuesday night, according to Great Falls Fire Rescue.

Great Falls Fire Rescue said it responded to the fire on 1309 2nd Avenue North at 6:39 p.m. during Tuesday night. Firefighters arrived to find smoke and fire coming from the second floor of the house.

Fire Rescue said the people inside the house had safely evacuated before firefighters arrived, but told crews that several pets were still inside the home. The occupants also told firefighters the fire started in a second-floor bedroom.

Firefighters started an exterior fire attack through the bedroom window before quickly transitioning to an interior attack to extinguish the fire, Fire Rescue said.

Firefighters who arrived to support the initial response entered the home to search the first floor and the basement, where they found multiple pets and saved them from the fire.

Great Falls Fire Rescue said the fire was “electrical in nature” and that the home’s second floor suffered smoke damage, with “significant damage” to the bedroom. The outside of the home was also damaged, it said.

The displaced occupants of the house were referred to the American Red Cross for assistance, Fire Rescue said.