Fire damages Kalispell home

Flames shot up from the roof of a house at 511 Fifth Avenue West Sunday afternoon as Kalispell fire and police responded to the initial report of a chimney fire.

"I was raking leaves across the street and saw this smoke coming out of the chimney," said neighbor Scott Davis, who was the first to spot the fire. "There was a real stinky-smelling smoke over there.

"I yelled for someone to call the fire department and then I ran over and tried to push open the front door, but it was locked. The police came really fast."

When Kalispell police arrived, they kicked in the back door of the residence and patrolman Carl Brisendine went inside.

"We just wanted to make sure the house was clear and there were no occupants, which there were not," Brisendine said. "The attic was smoky at that time, but the main floor was clear."

Firefighters made an aggressive interior attack, encountering heavy fire in the attic area, according to Ray Ruffatto, Kalispell fire inspector

"The structure has its original wood shingles, which are covered with tin," he said. "This made it difficult for us to rapidly ventilate the building."

As the fire intensified, crews were pulled from the interior of the building for safety reasons.

Firefighters continued working from ground ladders to access and extinguish the attic fire while also trying to protect the house and property to the north.

Crews from Evergreen and Creston arrived on site and firefighters attempted to salvage any belongings from the home that they could.

A set of dining room chairs could be seen scattered around the side yard.

Ruffatto said there was extensive smoke damage on the first floor of the structure and that there was also water damage resulting from suppression efforts.

By Sunday evening, crews were trying to pull all the tin off the roof so they could get under it to find the location of any undiscovered fires.

"We have to get all of it off to make sure the fire is out in the wood structure under the tin," Ruffatto said.

In all, there were 11 firefighters from Kalispell, six from Evergreen and seven from Creston on the scene.

"It's been a very active couple of shifts for many firefighters and we'll be here for at least another couple of hours," Ruffatto said.

Kalispell fire department also reported to an early morning house fire Sunday at 5 Salem Street, where a garage was fully engulfed in flames.

According to Ruffatto, there were no injuries to either occupants or firefighters.

Three fire engines, two ambulances, an incident command team and Kalispell police responded to the initial call.

Fire damage to the garage and residence was estimated at $80,000. Two adjacent homes incurred exterior damage due to radiant heat.

The cause of both fires is still undetermined.