The Fire Chief for the RM of Tache guesses a house damaged by fire Thursday night will be a total loss.

Peter Skjaerlund says at around eight o'clock they were called to a house fire along road 48 North, east of Highway 12.

"House was fully involved," notes Skjaerlund. "The guys did a really good job. They knocked it down and the house is still standing, the shell is standing but it does have a lot of fire and smoke damage inside."

Skjaerlund guesses the extent of damage to the bungalow is between $200,000 and $250,000. He says the house will likely be demolished.

Meanwhile, one of the residents was taken to hospital for smoke inhalation. But Skjaerlund says it sounds like that individual is doing okay.

There were two cats in the home at the time of the fire. Skjaerlund says one of the cats got out safely; the other was unresponsive when crews picked it up. However, the Tache Fire Department has a Pet Rescue Breather, which is an oxygen mask for animals.

"We put it on and after about half an hour it came to," he says. "It seemed to be doing fine by the time we left." Skjaerlund says the department acquired the apparatus about a year ago and has already used it numerous times.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Crews were on scene for about three hours.