BUTTE — A Butte linen supply company is recovering after a fire tore through its facility, but the owners say they are grateful no one was hurt — including their company mascot, a snake named after the Roman god of fire.
KMATS Linen Supply, located next to Butte High School, serves 200 clients across 8 counties in southwest Montana, and employs 10 people. Co-owner Madisen McIntosh said the fire broke out around 10 p.m. on May 14th. An employee finishing up for the night smelled smoke and called for help.
"She was just here doing the laundry that she normally does, and she smelled a little bit of a smell and investigated and saw that there was a fire starting, and it just went so fast," McIntosh said.
The employee escaped unharmed. Butte firefighters arrived on scene within minutes.
Among those rescued was Hephaestus, a 16-year-old corn snake and the company's beloved mascot, named after the Greco-Roman god of fire.
WATCH: Company mascot, corn snake, rescued from fire
"Our snake is safe! Yes, our snake Heph... Hephaestus. He is a very old snake. He's 16 years old. He's lived far longer than he is supposed to as a corn snake and he did survive the fire, and we are grateful for that," McIntosh said.
McIntosh said watching first responders carry the snake to safety was a bright moment amid the chaos.
"We saw them bring the snake out, it was actually a little comical watching two firefighters carry this big snake tank out of the building," McIntosh said.
McIntosh and her partner, Max Hoffman, have been building the business for the past couple of years. Despite the damage, McIntosh said the response from the local business community has helped KMATS continue operating, with clients and fellow businesses offering to lend equipment and services.
"The Butte community is really good at rallying and just supporting each other when things like this have happen, and we've had a lot of clients reach out and it's been very nice. I also would really like to thank the fire department. They're just right down the road. They had a very quick response," McIntosh said.
McIntosh said the loss of physical inventory is manageable compared to what could have been lost.
"You know you can always buy more mats, you can always buy more towels, you can always buy more uniforms, but you can't buy more people and so we are very grateful that no one was hurt, no one was harmed, and that we had such a quick response for this fire," McIntosh said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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