House fire claims three lives
From left, Smith Valley Assistant Fire Chief Doug Scarff, Bigfork Fire Chief Wayne Loeffler and Evergreen Fire Chief Craig Williams inspect the outside of a Columbia Falls-area home where three bodies were found during a fire Friday morning. These firefighters were part of a county team investigating the fatal fire.
A family of three died during a fire that gutted their Columbia Falls-area home early Friday morning.
The victims were James Lewis Barry IV, 63; his wife, Wanda Mae Barry, 52; and their son, James Lewis Barry V, 15.
They died of smoke inhalation, according to a press release from the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office.
Columbia Falls Fire Chief Rick Hagen said a rescue had been the department’s first priority when firefighters reached the burning home a little after 6 a.m.
“We tried to gain access to the individuals to rescue them,” he said, “but when we discovered them, they were gone.”
Two victims were found in the hallway and one was in the bedroom. Two dogs also died in the fire at the single-level North Fork Road home about a mile north of Columbia Falls.
Flames were pouring from the windows and about one-third of the house was engulfed when firefighters arrived.
It is unknown how long the home had been burning before firefighters were called by a neighbor.
From his bedroom window next door to the Barry house, 10-year-old Todd Ervin noticed massive flames after his alarm clock woke him up.
He woke up his father, Olaf Ervin, who called 911. Then Olaf Ervin and his mother, Jean Ervin, rushed to the Barry house.
“We tried to bang on the windows and walls to try and wake everyone up, but there was no response,” Olaf Ervin said. He said the area was filled with smoke.
Twenty-five firefighters from the Columbia Falls, Badrock and Blankenship fire departments responded with three engines, two water tenders, a rescue vehicle and a utility vehicle.
The fire was out around 7 a.m.
About a third of the house was heavily charred. The den, kitchen area and porch sustained the heaviest damage. The bedrooms and hallway, where the bodies were found, sustained major smoke damage but no fire damage.
Fire crews found the remains of a smoke detector in the hall and the remains of two more in the bedrooms. An intact smoke detector was found in an undamaged bedroom, but it was missing a battery and its cover was off.
“Finding one intact but not working leads us to believe the others weren’t working,” Hagen said.
The county fire investigation team and the assistant state fire marshal joined the Columbia Falls Fire Department Friday morning to investigate the fatal fire.
“They were good neighbors and great friends, and they will be greatly missed,” Ervin said of the Barry family.
Reporter Melissa Weaver may be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at mweaver@dailyinterlake.com