A home two miles south of the Steinbach water tower on Road 35E caught fire Saturday evening.

Steinbach Fire Chief Kel Toews says they were called to the house fire at approximately 8:15 p.m.

"When we arrived here we sent crews in, it was evident quite early the floors were spongy so it was a basement fire. It had been involved for quite a while, so we had to pull our people out and turn to a defensive fire and it is what we are left with right now."

Toews says as of 10:30 p.m. the floors of the house have burned through and fire crews are battling flames sprouting from the second floor windows and the roof. He says being a rural house, there are no fire hydrants so they are relying on a limited water supply.

"Right now we have got Steinbach, we've got a tanker from Giroux and also a tanker from La Broquerie. We could be here for quite a while just because of the fact that we are at the mercy of the fire right now."

Toews says only one family member was home at the time the fire started and they are safe.