The Butte-Silver Bow Fire Department responded to a structure fire at 322 West Gold just before midnight Wednesday evening, October 19, 2016. Upon dispatch, a large plume of smoke was noted by crews exiting the station in response to the 911 dispatch. Upon arrival, firefighters encountered a vacant two (2) story wooden-framed structure with a large amount of heavy fire exiting from all sides of the structure. Firefighters were able to protect the nearby two-story apartment exposure.
Firefighters found a male sleeping in the second story apartment that had the window frame burning, at that time, the individual was being exposed to very high levels of heat. Battalion Chief Merrifield was able to enter that apartment and lead the victim to safety. Crews were able to quickly contain and extinguish the blaze at 322 West Gold. The apartment exposure sustained heat damage to exterior windows and brick on the exposed side but there was no significant smoke or fire damage. The vacant residence at 322 West Gold Street is deemed a total loss and is considered a public safety hazard at this time.
The Butte-Silver Bow Fire Investigation Team determined the cause of the fire to be accidental with the ignition source as an unattended fire in the fire place being used as the main heat source while remodeling was underway. Fire Department crews cleared the scene at 4:30 a.m. Total cost damages to the involved structure has not been calculated. The residence was secured by the owner and Butte-Silver Bowe Community Enrichment officials and was turned back over to the home owners at approximately 11:00 a.m.
The BSB Fire Department was assisted by Butte-Silver Bow Law Enforcement, A-1 Ambulance, and NorthWestern Energy. We would like to thank you for your assistance.
For more information, please contact Assistant Chief/Fire Marshal Brian Doherty at (406) 497-6482.