BILLINGS — A Billings family is trying to move past a house fire that destroyed nearly everything they owned Sunday night.
The family said the fire started at around 10:30 p.m. in the duplex they are renting on Elizabeth Street. Authorities are investigating the cause of the fire.
Kim Hirt is one of the 12 residents living in the home. All residents are either related to her or are foster children living with the family. Hirt said everyone was jolted awake Sunday night.
"Boom, boom, boom," said Hirt, describing the sounds from the blaze. "Some hissing. We opened the back door and the fire tried to come into the house and I slammed the door."
All of the residents managed to escape the fire without serious injury, though practically everything inside was lost and the home itself is uninhabitable.
"I was crying," Hirt said with tears in her eyes. "All of that is mine. It's all gone."
Hirt said the fire spread quickly, eventually hitting oxygen tanks on the porch — which exploded and added to the blaze. Hirt said she needs the oxygen tanks for medical reasons and that she was forced to go to the hospital following the incident after inhaling too much smoke.
"I've never experienced anything like this and it was very scary," Hirt said. "Very scary."
Kimberly Kelch doesn't live in the duplex, but her son and his family do. She said when she first got the phone call about the fire, she feared the worst.
"Is everybody okay? Are they outside?" Kelch said of her original thoughts. "I got here in five minutes because I needed to make sure."
Everyone had made it out safely, and the devastation was shocking to Kelch.
"Everything is gone. They've lost everything," Kelch said. "My grandkids don't have clothes, my son don't have clothes, my mom, sister, nieces and nephews. Everything is gone."
The family has now moved into a hotel for the foreseeable future. They hope that they'll be able to move back into the duplex but at this time it's unclear.
For now, they're trying to remain grateful that the fire wasn't worse.
"I'm so happy that we all go out alive," Hirt said. "That's what matters the most is that we're all safe. We've got each other. We'll make it somehow."
