A rear porch fire quickly spread to engulf a Hamilton home Wednesday night, trapping the occupant inside before crews could extract them to safety.
Hamilton Fire crews responded to a porch fire west of town Wednesday night, arriving to find the rear of the residence and garage fully engulfed with dense smoke showing from all eaves.
The occupant of the residence was still inside when first responders arrived. Initial fire and law enforcement personnel on scene extracted the occupant to a safe location.
Before the first engine arrived, the garage roof collapsed, forcing fire further through the upper portion of the structure. First crews deployed multiple hand lines onto the fire and established a water supply to knock it down.
A second roof collapse occurred shortly after water operations began. Due to significant structural deterioration, crews were forced to fight the fire from the exterior.
The majority of the fire was knocked down around 8 p.m. Crews remained on scene mopping up hot spots and cleared shortly before 11 p.m.
1 firefighter was transported to the hospital due to smoke inhalation. A second firefighter was treated on scene for heat-related stress.
Hamilton Fire thanked Corvallis Rural Fire District, Victor Volunteer Fire and EMS, Hamilton Police Department, Ravalli County Sheriff's Office, Ravalli County Dispatch, Bitterroot Health EMS, King's Canteen, and Northwestern Energy for their help during the incident.
