Special to the Surveyor

On October 20, 2018 at 7:18 p.m. Berthoud Engine 1, Engine 2, and Engine 11 responded to a single family residential structure fire. Fire crews responded rapidly to the home in the 4000 block of Karen Ct. Neighboring homeowners had called authorities when they heard a loud noise and observed fire coming from a home in the area.

Upon Berthoud Fire’s arrival, flames were visible, and the fire had vented through the roof over the garage. Crews took a defensive fire attack and began to fight the fire. It was unconfirmed at the time whether any occupants were inside of the building. Firefighters went inside the building to clear it of occupants and did not find anyone inside. The homeowner was later located by law enforcement, and she confirmed that no occupants were in the home. The homeowner and house guests were away from home at the time. One dog was in the home but had safely escaped during the fire.

            A second alarm was called for additional resources. Loveland Fire Rescue Authority’s Engine 1 and Engine 3 were also on scene. Loveland Fire’s Engine 6 helped cover the Berthoud Station in case other calls were to come in. Larimer County Sheriff’s Office was on scene as well as Thompson Valley EMS.

Fire crews were able to stop the fire from spreading, containing the fire damage to the garage and the attic above the kitchen. Berthoud Fire remained on scene throughout the night to ensure there were no rekindles from the fire.

The garage and home did sustain significant damage. On October 21, 2018 Larimer County Building Department tagged the home as uninhabitable due to fire and smoke damage and released the home back to the homeowner.

After the multi-agency investigation, it was determined that the origin of the fire was in the northeast corner of the garage and the cause was electrical.