Fire hits Famous Dave's
Fire crews work together to put out the blaze, which took just under two hours to have under control.
Evergreen Firefighter Ryan Pitts sprays water into the side of the building as smoke rises above.
Evergreen, Kalispell, and Whitefish fire crews responded to a fire at Famous Dave's restaurant on U.S. 93 North Saturday evening after a fire started in the building's mechanical room, according to Kalispell Fire Chief Dan Diehl.
A fire broke out late Saturday night at Famous Dave’s Restaurant in Kalispell.
While the fire’s cause is still under investigation, Kalispell Fire Chief Dan Diehl said it started in the U.S. 93 North barbecue restaurant’s mechanical room.
The fire began around 10 p.m. according to a Famous Dave’s kitchen employee. Diehl said the blaze appeared to have been burning for some time before Kalispell Fire Department was dispatched.
The restaurant was still serving dinner at the time the fire began, but all patrons and employees were evacuated without incident.
Kalispell, Evergreen and Whitefish fire departments all responded to battle the fire over a roughly two-hour period.
Firefighters battled both fire and wind that blew flames several feet above and farther east into the building.
To get to the source of the flames, discovered by thermal cameras in a hard-to-reach void space, firefighters had to open part of the roof over the southwest corner of the building.
Firefighters had the blaze under control shortly after midnight.
Based on a preliminary estimate, Diehl said he believed there to be extensive smoke damage throughout, but also said he saw no indication that actual burn damage reached the dining room.
On Friday, Kalispell Fire Department had been dispatched to the Famous Dave’s mechanical room when an electric motor was found burning.
Diehl said the restaurant had several workers in and out of the building all day Saturday trying to fix the damaged machinery.
A Famous Dave’s kitchen employee indicated the restaurant was having trouble with a water heater. The employee believed the fire began in the flue attached to the heater. He said kitchen staff tried to put out the fire themselves using an extinguisher before firefighters arrived.
Crowds of onlookers, including some teary-eyed restaurant employees, filled the Lowe’s parking lot as the fire burned.
The Famous Dave’s general manager declined comment Saturday.
Famous Dave’s, which began in Hayward, Wis. in 1994, opened the U.S. 93 North location in 2007.
For more on this story, read Monday's Daily Inter Lake.