A Hamilton home was gutted by an early morning fire Thursday while its owner was in a Missoula hospital having a medical procedure done.
Hamilton Volunteer Fire Chief Brad Mohn said the fire at the home on Grundy Lane was called in shortly after 5 a.m. after a neighbor spotted flames coming from an upstairs window.
“When we arrived, the home already heavily involved with fire,” Mohn said. “When we made our entrance into the house, the stairs had already burned.”
The home was older with a metal roof, which didn’t allow the fire to vent. In places it still had the original sawdust insulation.
Firefighters took a defensive strategy on attacking the fire. They used ladders to fight the blaze through upstairs windows.
“It was a complete loss to the home,” Mohn said. “There is heavy damage to the interior.” Mohn said no one was home at the time of the fire. Law enforcement contacted the owner at the hospital.