Firefighters in Butte battled a house fire on the upper west side on Friday.
Butte firefighters arrived just after 5 p.m. at 8 Tullamore Street and saw the house fully engulfed in flames and had to deal with strong winds which made the fire spread quickly.
Volunteers from Centerville and Walkerville firefighters helped in the fight.
Bill O’Connor, who lives across the street, said two people were able to escape from the burning home unharmed.
“The front of the house was fully engulfed by the time the engines arrives, they got the water right on it but with this intense wind it took it over so fast. I’m really happy my neighbors were able to get out alive,” said O’Connor.
Fire officials said the cause of the fire is still being investigated.
The Butte-Silver Bow Fire Department posted the following information on Facebook on Monday morning:
The Butte-Silver Bow Fire Department, Centerville VFD and Walkerville VFD were dispatched for a possible structure fire at 8 Tullamore with a fire on the porch and flames were visible.
As Engines 2 and 4 left Station No. 1, heavy black smoke was seen. Engine 4 requested Engine 1 to begin to respond. On arrival, a single-family dwelling was found to have very heavy fire conditions. While en route, Centerville requested Big Butte VFD to respond as well.
Incident Commander Battalion Chief Bill Fisher manned Stations 1 and 2 and manned Boulevard VFD and Race Track VFD. Crews from E-4, E-2, and E-1 (Captain Jerod Gonzalez, Firefighters John Sheehan, Zach Osborne, Derek Harvey, Kolby Carter, and Probationary Firefighter Jerry Ellison) donned SCBAs and were able to make initial entry through the back door of the structure. They reported light fire conditions on Floor 1. An evacuation order was called when it was determined that both the attic and basement were fully involved with fire. Three (3) hand lines and the Blitz continued to flow from the exterior of the structure.
Within 15 minutes of BSB Fire Department’s arrival, the fire burned through the roof resulting in roof collapse and it burned through the floor causing the front half of Floor 1 to collapse into the basement.
Fire Marshal Doherty was notified and he responded and spoke with the residents.
The construction type was modern, light weight, and the wind speed was estimated to be 30 miles per hour. According to Fire Marshal Brian Doherty, flow path issues combined with the construction type of the home led to the rapid fire spread throughout the home. The Fire Department patrolled the structure several times and found no hot spots. One of the residents was taken to St. James HealthCare.
