The frigid temperatures caused problems for fire crews Sunday night into Monday.
Chief Anthony Kovacic said, "It's extremely tough, as you can imagine. We had one fire engine that was sitting here idling and we weren't using it and it started to freeze."
Kovacic said he had a city mechanic there to make sure firefighting efforts weren't compromised.
Crews were able to contain most of the damage to a bedroom in the Solomon Street home.
Kovacic said, had it been a bigger fire, he likely would have called for a bus to be brought to the scene to give firefighters a place to warm up and to shuttle crews to the fire line.
Fire crews in Altoona also battled frigid temperatures when they responded to a house fire at 18th Avenue and 11th Street.
The flames were discovered in the two-story home about 6:30 p.m. Sunday.
The Altoona Mirror reported a man was home but escaped without injury.
The home was a total loss with damages set at $35,000. The cause was still under investigation Monday.
