Winkler Fire Department was called to Linden Drive around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday morning in response to a residential structure fire.

Chief Richard Paetzold says when crews arrived they found a fire in a basement bedroom of the home.

“A crew attacked the fire in the room directly from the outside, initially through a window, but then an interior fire attack crew went inside to finish extinguishing the fire, and prevent extension to other areas of the basement, while a search crew entered and completed a search of the rest of the structure,” he explained.

The Chief noted there were people home at the time of the fire, but they were able to escape safely and were assessed by EMS.

The fire damage was contained mainly to the bedroom, which the department is crediting to the occupant who closed the door before exiting the room.

“That contained the fire mainly to the room of origin,” said Paetzold in an email to PembinaValleyOnline. “If that did not happen, things would have looked much different.”

There was smoke damage throughout the house.

The cause remains under investigation.