A rural Powell home was severely damaged by fire Wednesday afternoon. 

One of the residents heard smoke alarms and found the attached garage fully engulfed in flames, with Powell volunteer firefighters called to the house at 12:23 p.m. Thick black smoke could be seen pouring from the residence from town as the department rushed to the 900 block of Road 3, located southeast of Garland and north of the Shoshone River.

The fire started while most volunteers were on lunch break from their regular jobs, which helped save most of the valuables in the home, said Powell Fire Chief Dustin Dicks.

“We were able to get out there really quick,” he said. 

The volunteers were able to keep the fire from burning most of the residence, although there is extensive smoke damage to the rest of the house and the fire was able to get into the attic, burning through the roof. Firefighters were forced to pull down much of the roof to completely extinguish the fire, Dicks said.

The one-story home, built in 2016, is owned by Alan and Cheryl Gettings. Cheryl said there were no injuries and their pets were safe.

“Nobody was hurt. That’s what matters,” she said, adding that, “we’ve lived in the barn before, we can do it again,” refering to an outbuilding on the property.

The cause of the fire is still undetermined, Dicks said.