The Missoula City Fire Department responded to an early morning fire at 1700 Cooley Street, Number 10. 

Battalion Chief Dick Wear was on the first truck to arrive at the fire that was reported to 9-1-1 just after 3:30 Sunday morning.

"It was a small fire inside a room in a mobile home on Cooley Street, that we knocked down quickly," Wear said. "There wasn't too much damage, mostly smoke damage, and the Red Cross came on the scene to provide a place for the female resident to stay for the next few days."

Wear said the response to the fire involved several engines and other agencies.

"There were three engines, a truck and a battalion chief," he said. "We also had the Fire Marshal on the scene to investigate. Also responding were Missoula Emergency Services, Northwestern Energy and the Red Cross."

The Fire Marshal has determined the cause of the fire to be electrical in nature, and damages to the structure total about $8,000. Wear said the mobile home was not equipped with smoke detectors. Firefighters emphasize the fact that smoke alarms save lives, in that a working smoke alarm cuts the chances of dying in a house fire in half. They remind residents to test smoke alarms once a month, change the batteries twice a year and replace smoke detectors every 10 years.

More From Newstalk KGVO 1290 AM & 98.3 FM