Firefighters revive cats at home fire

The Daily Inter Lake

A cone of burning incense caused a Monday evening fire in which smoke killed two cats at 336 Fourth Ave. W. in Kalispell.

The family that lived there - a woman, a boy and a girl - escaped unharmed.

The family had 10 cats at the house. Two died, one is missing and seven were found in various states of unconsciousness and disorientation. Those seven were revived with oxygen masks in a Kalispell Fire Department ambulance.

The family declined to talk about the fire. The fire department declined to identify the family.

The fire started in a burning incense cone near a basement couch, according to Kalispell fire inspector F. Ray Ruffatto. The family got out of the home and 911 was called at 5:27 p.m.

The fire department responded with 26 people staffing three engines, a ladder truck and two ambulances, as well as a customer service team and command staff.

A crew quickly doused the flames in the basement. Another crew extinguished flames that reached the first floor's wall and floor through a heat transfer duct. The basement suffered the most damage, and the first floor had minor damage. Smoke damaged other parts of the house.

Firefighters estimated damage at $20,000.

The home was insured, the fire department said.

After the fire was put out, firefighters searched the home for the cats, finding nine.

The family is in contact with the American Red Cross. Flathead Electric, NorthWestern Energy and Flathead County Animal Control also helped at the scene.