A nearly 100 year-old home in Alberton burned to the ground Saturday night into Sunday morning and even though the family escaped the flames, several pets did not.

Mel Holtz, Public Information Officer with the Frenchtown Rural Fire District shared the story with KGVO News just as the fire was being mopped up on Sunday.

“Just before midnight last night we received a call for a house fire that was fully involved,” said Holtz. “Our crews got there and the house certainly was fully involved. It was a two story older home in Alberton. All the occupants were able to get out safely. It was a family of six but they ended up losing everything in that fire.”

Holtz said the family was heartbroken that several pets did not survive the fire, although some smaller animals were rescued.

photo courtesy of Mel Holtz, Frenchtown Rural Fire
photo courtesy of Mel Holtz, Frenchtown Rural Fire
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“Several pets perished in the fire including some dogs and cats,” he said. “But we were able to rescue a couple of ferrets. We took those ferrets into the Emergency Pet Center in Missoula, where they're going through some kind of life saving care right now. But they seem to be bouncing back at the moment. “It was quite a tragic event last night that displaced an Alberton family from their home.”

Holtz described the response by firefighting agencies in the area.

“We requested mutual aid with Missoula Rural Fire,” he said. “In addition, we had Missoula Emergency Services out there, and the Mineral County Sheriff's Office also assisted us. We wrapped up with kind of salvage and overhaul of that fire at about six this morning. So it took a while to get this under control, and the salvage and overhaul operation, especially with these older buildings in Alberton. It's just such a shame to see another historic old house being lost in Alberton.”

Holtz said the family had a request for help from anyone who might want to support the surviving pets being treated in Missoula.

photo courtesy of Mel Holtz, Frenchtown Rural Fire
photo courtesy of Mel Holtz, Frenchtown Rural Fire
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“Because they lost everything, they do have some emergency pet expenses and the family is asking for some assistance,” he said. “So if anyone would like to support the vet bills they can call the Emergency Pet Center in Missoula to help out.”

There was no immediate estimate of damage from the fire, but Holtz said the house and all their possessions are a total loss.

 

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