December 15, 2022 |
A house fire in Hanna displaced the occupants during blizzard conditions.
In the early morning hours of December 14th, Hanna resident Michael Charles was woken up by his son to find their home was on fire. Charles explained what happened.
Charles said his son was up late playing video games. He noticed the fire when the electricity went out. Seeing smoke in the living room, Charles’s son alerted his father and they both tried to stop the blaze.
Charles said he punched holes in the wall above his wood stove to access the fire. He said there were three fire extinguishers in his home. After exhausting two and having the third malfunction, Charles said it became clear the fire was out of control.
The strong winds and snow made it more difficult to put the fire out. Charles said he and his son waited in his car for around three and a half hours while Hanna fire fighters battled the blaze.
Besides Charles and his son, there were two cats and a pit bull in the home when the fire broke out. Charles said the dog and one cat made it out. The second cat is very skittish and lives in the basement. Charles said he didn’t think that part of the house was affected by the flames.
St. Joseph’s Mission provided Charles and his son a motel room in Rawlins for the night. Charles said getting to the motel was treacherous.
Charles and his son were able to return to their home yesterday afternoon. Hanna EMS confirmed no firefighters were hurt.
It was a Christmas miracle no one was injured during the blaze. Blizzard conditions and below freezing temperatures made the fire especially dangerous to battle.
