Roberts, MT – ROBERTS No one was injured Friday night when a rural Roberts home exploded as the result of a suspected propane leak.
Hunter Bell, chief of the 13-member Roberts volunteer fire department, said the owner wasn’t home, and neither was his tenant, who had not moved in very many belongings.
The home, at 22 Niemi Road, was a total loss, Bell said. Firefighters have not estimated the dollar value of the loss.
About 16 firefighters from Roberts, with mutual aid from Red Lodge, began arriving about seven minutes after the call from neighbors, which firefighters received shortly before 9 p.m. Friday.
Neighbors heard “two loud explosions” and called firefighters immediately, Bell said.
“It was an unbelievable sight to drive up to,” Bell said Saturday afternoon. “There wasn’t a lot you could do but protect nearby outbuildings.”
Those buildings, as well as a neighbor’s house, about one-eighth of a mile from the burning structure, were never in danger, Bell said. “It was a very calm night,” he said.
Bell described the home as “an older home with older propane lines.” Firefighters believe the fire was ignited by an electric water heater, he said.
Debris from the fire, including windowsill pieces, was thrown 50-60 feet from the house, Bell said. Doors were pushed out by the force of the explosion and landed about 30 feet from the house.
Firefighters didn’t enter the home Friday night because the floor, Bell said, “had been compromised.” The homeowner, who was out of town when the explosion occurred, asked firefighters to “let the house fall into itself,” Bell said.
Bell described the home as a 1,200-square-foot ranch-style home.
Roberts firefighters remained on the scene Friday night to monitor hot spots, then returned Saturday with heavy equipment to push what remained of the house down, Bell said.
Roberts is in Carbon County, about 45 miles southwest of Billings.
Bell praised the work of volunteers from both the Roberts and Red Lodge departments. “We work together seamlessly,” he said. “It’s pretty quiet here. We do mostly wildland fires.”