Fire crews spent several hours Friday quelling a house fire in Rifle that ultimately cost a family their home, dog, cat and another pet.

The people living there were not home at the time.

Two dogs managed to be saved because they were in a room with the door closed, preventing smoke and flames from entering the room.

“That’s the reason they are alive,” said Colorado River Fire Rescue Operations Chief Leif Sackett. “Because the door was closed. That’s why we tell people to close their doors at night when they are sleeping, in case anything happens.”

CRFR crews were paged for a structure fire at East 16th Street at 4:59 p.m. Friday. By the time firefighters got there minutes later, the fire had engulfed the porch and front side of the home.

Crews were able to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby homes and most vegetation, but the home was a total loss. Flames reached a nearby cottonwood tree but were quickly put out.

Fire officials are still investigating the cause, but Sackett said that it does not appear to be suspicious in nature.

Officers with the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office, Rifle Police Department, Grand Valley Fire Department and Glenwood Springs Fire Department all assisted.

Anyone looking to help out this young Rifle family may go to a GoFundMe fundraiser set up on their behalf.