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One woman was hospitalized for smoke inhalation at Community Medical Center and two more were transported and evaluated after a fire was reported at 2026 12th Street just after 10:30 on Saturday night.

Battalion Chief Derek Mullins said crews responded to the 9-1-1 call at about 10:35 p.m.

"We got a 9-1-1 call that there were smoke and flames showing from a bedroom," Mullins said. "When we arrived on scene, we actually found someone inside the back door that had a garden hose trying to spray the fire. They evacuated her and then knocked down the fire.and she, I think, had to be transported to the hospital (Community Medical Center) later for smoke inhalation.Additional ambulances were called and ended up transporting two others who just needed evaluation, so a total of three were transported."

Mullins said even though all the residents escaped the fire, pets were killed due to the incident.

"Other crews arrived and helped extinguish the fire and we did find that everybody made it out of the structure, but we did find a couple of dogs that were unable to make it out. They didn't survive," he said. "We utilized Missoula Rural Fire to handle some of our other calls while we were responding to the fire.We also called the Red Cross to help us get some temporary housing for the family that was displaced."

Mullins said the fire was declared out by 11:12 p.m. and that the investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing. The entire upper floor of the structure was heavily damaged by the fire, with a rough estimate of nearly $140,000 in damage. Missoula Police and Northwestern Energy also assisted during the incident.

The Missoula Fire Department issued the following statement in its report,

“If you are caught in a house fire, decide whether to fight or flee. Don’t attempt to extinguish any fire if there is a threat to your safety. If the fire is small and you know how to use a fire extinguisher, you can attempt to extinguish the fire. Get yourself and your family members out and stay out, don’t return to attempt to rescue a pet.”

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