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Several animals die in Montana house fire

3107 Boulder fire
Posted at 1:26 PM, Jan 03, 2023
and last updated 2023-01-03 15:27:02-05

BILLINGS – A home in Billings is uninhabitable after being engulfed in flames on Monday morning.

While all of the people inside the house were able to make it out safely, several pets died as a result of the fire.

Ed Guerrero always pays attention when he hears sirens and emergency vehicles speeding past his home on Boulder Avenue.

“I always think that something’s happened to my mom," Ed said.

His mother — Soledad Guerrero — suffers from dementia and lives just down the street.

On Monday morning, his nightmare came true.

“And then I look out the window and see smoke coming up over here, so I thought it was this house on fire, but it was my mom’s,” Ed recalled.

Ed says his mother escaped thanks to help from his sister and another person but his childhood home was destroyed.

“The incredible damage it did to my mom's house, it’s horrible," Ed said.

While everyone made it out, the fire did claim eight lives near and dear to the family.

“I guess seven cats and her dog got killed,” Ed told MTN News.

It’s still not clear how the fire started, but it's taken a huge toll on the woman who lived there for over 50 years.

The family is now left trying to make some crucial decisions for their mom.

She is a woman now navigating not only the challenges of dementia — but what comes next after losing her home in a fire.