Fireworks are suspected as the cause of a fatal house fire on July 2.
The fire at 1109 2nd Ave. S.W. killed an elderly woman, her dog and cat.
Dispatch was notified of a fire outside the house at 6:38 p.m. and the first engine company was dispatched at 6:39 p.m. from Great Falls Fire Rescue’s Station 2, arriving on scene at 6:42 p.m.
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Upon arrival, firefighters found the house “heavily involved in fire,” as well as the detached garage, according to GFFR.
Firefighters were told someone might be inside and attempted to make entry to the house but were unable to do so, as “fire conditions inside the home were untenable,” according to GFFR.
Firefighters assumed defensive operations from the exterior and the battalion chief struck a second alarm, calling back off-duty firefighters and a second battalion chief.
Montana Air National Guard and Malmstrom Air Force Base fire departments backfilled GFFR stations under their mutual aid agreements until the second alarm was completed, according to GFFR.
Shortly after 7 p.m., GFFR crews were able to distinguish the majority of the fire from their exterior positions and were then able to make entry into the house, finding the elderly woman occupant to be deceases, as were her dog and cat.
GFFR’s deputy fire marshals were called to investigate the origin and cause of the fire, determining that it started in the yard and spread the house.
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Their determination was consistent with information provided by a witness who saw fire in the grass outside the house moving toward the house.
“The cause of the fire has been determined to be unintentional, with the ignition source more than likely to have been fireworks, which were reported to have been discharged in the area around the time of the fire,” according to GFFR.
Within the city limits, selling and discharging fireworks is limited from 8 a.m. to midnight July 2-4.
Fireworks should only be discharged on private property.
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Fireworks are prohibited on all publicly owned property such as parks, streets, cul-de-sacs, public sidewalks or public-rights-of-way or any publicly owned parking lot/parking space or alley.
