Man, dog escape fire that guts home

The Daily Inter Lake

A wood stove started a fire Tuesday evening in the basement of a home in the 100 block of South Meridian Road, extensively damaging the house.

No one was seriously hurt; the owner and his dog escaped the fire and went to a neighbor's house.

The Kalispell, West Valley, Smith Valley, and South Kalispell fire departments, and Marion Ambulance responded.

Firefighters were challenged by heavy smoke and heat, along with explosions from ammunition inside the house. For 20 minutes, firefighters tried to suppress the fire, according to F. Ray Ruffato of the Kalispell Fire Department.

The fire spread to the first floor of the home, and firefighters were called out of the building for their safety.

The older two-story home sustained at least $80,000 and is not inhabitable, Ruffato said. Fire damage extended from the basement through the roof. The home and its contents reportedly are uninsured.

Ruffato said18 firefighters from the Kalispell department were on the scene and about 20 from the neighboring departments.

A firefighter from the West Valley department hurt his wrist in a fall. Marion Ambulance took him to the hospital, where he was treated and released.

Further investigation into the cause of the fire is uncertain, because officials are worried that the basement of the house may be unsafe to explore, Ruffato said.