Polson family loses 2 dogs in house fire

A Polson mother and her two children spent Christmas Eve without a home, but were grateful for an outpouring of community help after a Wednesday house fire burned most of their belongings and left two of their young dogs dead.

Dion Chiaramonte said that she returned home Wednesday afternoon to a house full of smoke and an elderly 14-year-old dog that ran outside.

Chiaramonte said she got her young son and daughter to stay outside and tried to go into the house, but the smoke was too thick.

Fire crews were able to save the family’s Christmas presents, but the trio will likely be starting over from scratch because little else was salvageable.

It was a sad end to what has been a rough year for the family. Chiaramonte got divorced, had to hire a private investigator to track down a child that was taken from her and worked four jobs as a single mother to provide for her children. She also has a health issue with her leg that will require a visit to a specialist soon.

However, on Christmas Eve, Chiaramonte was looking on the bright side of things. She said she never asked for any help after the fire but people just started showing up of their own accord, ready to help.

“The community has been incredible,” Chiaramonte said. “I don’t know how word spread so fast.”

The family was given a room at in the KwaTaqNuk Resort for two days. The resort is a drop station for donations to help them get back on their feet.

Chiaramonte wears size 10 boots and size 28 by 36 to 38 jeans.

Her 5-year-old daughter wears size 6 clothing and a size 12-1 boot.

Eight-year-old Matthew wears size 8 clothing and size 2-3 boots.

The family also needs all household items.

A GoFundMe account is also being set up. A web address for that site was not immediately available.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.