FOX POINT -- Fire crews battled the cold weather while putting out a house fire in Fox Point Monday morning.
It started shortly after 6 a.m. at a home near Santa Monica Boulevard and Bradley Road. Two people inside were able to escape, but two pets did not.
"Everybody is cold but we are prepared," Lt. Dan Tyk said. "We are a 24 hour, seven days a week, 365 days a year operation. We work in any conditions. We have more resources here than we would typically have for a house fire, so we can cycle crews through, keep fresh crews outside that are able to go in and let people that are cold warm up.
About 30 firefighters on scene were able to get the fire under control within an hour.
Fire crews even took extra precautions to keep the water from freezing.
"As long as water is moving, generally it won't freeze," Tyk said. "We also are able to take hose lines and trickle them in an area where it won't create a skating rink."
The North Shore Fire Department said the fire started after someone inside the home lit the fireplace and then went to sit on a nearby chair with a blanket. They said the blanket caught fire and began to spread to the chair and surrounding furniture.
Investigators said were not able to locate any working smoke alarms during their investigation.
