A Rock Springs family of eight lost their rural rental home, four pets and all of their possessions in a Tuesday afternoon fire whipped by high winds.
Breanna and Christopher Pate and their six children — four of whom are with the family full-time and two on the weekends — are now split up in different relatives' homes as the Christmas approaches.
Breanna Pate said much of their holiday shopping had already been completed.
“There was nobody at home and the winds were (heavy) where we live and we had our fireplace going because that is really our only main source of heat,” she said. “The wind caught it just right and somehow it got into our crawlspace and up into our attic and with the wind being so bad the firefighters couldn’t stop it.”
Pate said the family lost their pets — two Labrador retrievers, a Jack Russell terrier mix and a shih tzu — in the fire.
“It hurts. Our dogs were our family,” she said. “They were just like another kid to us.”
The home had been the family’s residence for 18 months and had six bedrooms and two bathrooms.
Breanna Pate said she is a native of Rock Springs and her husband has been in the community for 15 years. The Pates appreciates the support that the family is receiving from the community, she said.
Sweetwater County Fire District No. 1 Chief Scott Kitchner said that his department was dispatched to the 500 block of Evelyn Road north of Rock Springs at 11:50 a.m. for the fire.
“Heavy smoke was coming from the entire structure,” Kitchner said of when the first units arrived. “We have an automatic mutual aid agreement with the City of Rock Springs, and they sent an engine, and we ended up sending three engines.”
A Rock Springs family is now homeless due to a fire Tuesday afternoon. The community is responding to help them rebound. (Courtesy Sweetwater County Fire District No. 1) 
Four engines from Sweetwater County Fire District No. 1 and Rock Springs battled the fire at a Rock Springs home Tuesday for seven hours. (Courtesy Sweetwater County Fire District No. 1)
Seven-Hour Battle
Fifteen firefighters, four from Rock Springs and 11 from Sweetwater County, were at the scene battling the blaze until 7 p.m., he said. The fire was burning in the crawl space and the roof.
“We were dealing with 35 mph to 55 mph wind gusts that day and it made putting out the fire extremely difficult,” he said.
Rock Springs sent one engine with four firefighters, and Sweetwater County's department supplied three engines with 11 firefighters.
Kitchner said the official cause of the fire is still under investigation. The fire, smoke and water damage made the home a total loss, he said.
Pate’s sister, Beth Pfeiffer, is coordinating efforts to help the family. Pfeiffer said she has spoken with Rock Springs National Bank, which has set up a “Pate Family Fire Fund” account that should be operational Friday.
Pfeiffer said a lot of people have stepped up to donate items and dropped them off at her house.
“The community has been great,” she said. “They have dropped clothes off and toys for the kids … We’re getting beds together and furniture together for them, some people have donated gift cards and other people have donated money.
Kitchner said the fire department has a “burn-out” fund and the firefighters’ association was making a $1,100 gift to the family.
Since the family was renting the property, the landlord has instructed them to take their remaining things and leave the property, Pate said. She said some of the family is staying with her parents, and others with her sister.
Pate said the family will be able to be together for the holidays, and they are searching for another place to live.
“We are trying to get into a place where we can have the remainder of our animals at and just try and rebuild us,” Pate said.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
