Family escapes house fire in northern El Paso County

MONUMENT, Colo. (KKTV) - All residents and pets got out safely after a fire started in their home overnight.

Firefighters responded to a home on True Vista Circle just after 3:40 Tuesday morning. The home is on the northern edge of El Paso County just a couple of blocks south of County Line Road, and the response was within 10 minutes, said Jamey Bumgarner, a division chief with Monument Fire.

Firefighters found a garage engulfed in flames. They confirmed the homeowners and all of the animals in the house had escaped and then set about attacking the blaze.

The cooler temperatures that have settled into the region in recent days provided a little extra “oomph” for firefighters on scene.

“The cooler weather probably allows us to use less crews because our crews get less fatigued,” Bumgarner said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, but Bumgarner said there are a couple basic safety tips all people should be aware of.

“For homeowners, make sure they sleep with their doors closed. In this situation, that certainly helped the homeowners, having the garage door closed and their interior doors closed. ... Even sleep with your bedroom door closed from your hallway. That keeps the products of the smoke and the combustion and the fire out of that bedroom for at least an hour. Most all the doors and homes are rated to keep it out of your bedroom for that period of time.”

The fire was largely contained to the garage, with a little bit of damage to the rest of the home. For at least Wednesday, if not longer, the family would be displaced, Bumgarner said.