Kremlin house total loss to fire

Three people today escaped an early morning house fire in the middle of Kremlin that officials say totally destroyed the residence.

Kremlin Fire Chief Kody Peterson said the call came in sometime before 2 a.m. today, but the fire was already significantly established by the time firefighters arrived. Havre Fire Department and Gildford Volunteer Fire Department were also called to help fight the fire.

Havre Assistant Fire Chief Kelly Jones said a Havre crew responded with one truck at 1:50 a.m. and by the time those crews arrived the house was fully engulfed, and a Havre ambulance responded at 3:38 a.m.

Peterson said the residents were treated for smoke inhalation.

The fire was contained to the house, Peterson said, adding that, luckily, the detached garage had a tin roof that protected it from embers and much of the city block was empty.

However, he said, because of dry conditions and high winds predicted today and tonight, Kremlin crews brought in an excavator to push the remains of the structure in to actively control the site until all materials are burned up.

“That’s been a healthy concern of ours,” he said.

The cause of the fire is not known, and Peterson said that unless the family can add some information, the amount of damage means they don’t have enough to work with for an investigation.

NorthWestern Energy power and gas crews and Hill County Water District also responded.