Cause of house fire undetermined

BISMARCK, N.D. --Two Bismarck rural firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion at the scene where a Hoge Island home burned Sunday afternoon, but the two homeowners Craig Johnson and Connie Hofland were not injured. No firefighters had to be hospitalized.

The husband and wife were restoring the home at 9730 Island Road after it had been damaged in the 2011 flood. They hoped to move back by fall, Hofland said.

The home appears to be a total loss, according to Capt. Randy Jacobson of the Bismarck Rural Fire Department.

Al Klein, fire chief, said the cause of the fire has not been determined and the rural fire department has completed its investigation. The state fire marshall will not investigate it. The fire started in the garage. There was nothing suspicious in nature, Klein said. However, he said the familys insurance company may decide to look into incident further if a claim is filed.

Johnson said he had been using an ATV before the fire and parked it in the garage according to Klein. It is unknown if the ATV was the source of the fire. Johnson had been working outside the home when the fire started and nobody was inside. He said he heard a pop and saw the fire, Klein said.

Klein said wiring in the building was too damaged by the fire to determine if an electrical problem in the home and garage caused the fire.

The Metro Ambulance assisted the 17 firefighters as they worked on the fire for some five hours as the temperature peaked at 94 degrees, said Klein. Ten fire trucks responded to the scene at 3:20 p.m. The fire was controlled within an hour, but firefighters remained on the scene until 8:30 p.m. to ensure flare-ups and hot spots were extinguished.

Jacobson said they did their best to keep firefighters hydrated Sunday and would rotate them frequently.

The Mandan Rural Fire Department assisted the Bismarck rural firefighters with extra tanks and shuttling water to the scene, Klein said.

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Cause of house fire undetermined