Family regroups after fire
Friends and family have rallied to help a Kalispell family who lost everything in a house fire Thursday night.
By LYNNETTE HINTZE
The Daily Inter Lake
Friends and family have rallied to help a Kalispell family who lost everything in a house fire Thursday night.
Accounts have been set up at First Interstate Bank and Whitefish Credit Union to collect cash donations for Kirk and Candi Mantel and their three sons, ages 8, 10 and 16. Donations may be made at any of the bank or credit-union branches.
Donations of clothing and household goods - or gift cards to purchase items - may be dropped off at Riverside Vineyard Church from Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., or call the church at 752-4141 to set up a different time.
The boys' clothing needs are: size 8 pants/size 10 shirts; size 12 pants/size 12 shirts; and 30-inch waist/30-inch inseam pants with medium shirts.
The church is located at 859 W. Reserve Drive in Kalispell.
Cindy Miller, a sister of Kirk Mantel, also is available to take inquiries at 212-4634.
The family was thawing pipes underneath their mobile home near the intersection of Whitefish Stage and Birch Grove roads about 8:30 p.m. Thursday when the insulation caught fire.
"They had only about three minutes before the entire house was in flames. It was a huge inferno," Miller said.
"Kirk told everyone to grab a coat and run. They literally have lost everything."
Family members escaped in their slippers and pajamas. Three out of four Labrador puppies in an adjacent shed perished in the fire. The Mantels' youngest son was able to grab one of the puppies as he fled the fire.
Kirk Mantel was able to move his vehicle out of the way and thought he would have time to re-enter the home and grab some things, Miller said, but the home already was engulfed in flames.
Candi Mantel said they had routinely thawed pipes during the 13 1/2 years they had lived in the mobile home. They were using a propane heater with a torch.
The Mantels are staying temporarily with friends who have extra living space.
"We're doing OK; we're adjusting," Candi Mantel said. "It's tough, but our community is awesome. The support has been wonderful."
Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com