Rating:

0.0 (0 votes)

A fire ripped through a Belgrade area home last night, destroying the structure and injuring its sole occupant.

Central Valley firefighters responded to a mobile home fire at Lexley Acres at just after 10 p.m. last night. When they arrived firefighters found the center of single-wide trailer engulfed in flames with heavy, thick smoke pouring out of both ends of the structure as well.

The single occupant of the home was able to escape the fire and was taken to Bozeman Deaconess Hospital for treatment.

After an initial attack of 20 minutes, the fire was knocked down. Fire crews cleared the scene at 3 a.m. this morning.

While the home and its contents are a total loss, no nearby structures were damaged.
Due to the large amount of personal belongings located in the trailer firefighters were forced to tear off the siding of the home in order to fight the blaze.

Fire Captain John Culbertson with Belgrade, Central Valley Fire told the News Station that mobile home fires pose a particular challenge to firefighters.

"It's a relatively small area and they way they're constructed the structural components fail early, so it's very difficult to get inside to fight a fire and when you have to do it from the outside it limits our ability to get water where we need to get water within the structure."

The fire remains under investigation. A cause of the blaze has not been determined.
Family members told firefighters that the occupant of the home suffered burns to her hands and scalp and could be released from the hospital as soon as today.