Busy day keeps fire crews hopping
<p>Evergreen and Kalispell fire departments were called to a fire Monday night at the Alpine Inn in Evergreen. The structure fire was called in at 7:23 p.m. when smoke was spotted coming from the roof above rooms 20 and 21.</p>
Evergreen Fire Rescue was kept on its toes between Monday afternoon and Tuesday afternoon.
In that 24-hour period, department personnel responded to two structure fires, eight medical calls, five vehicle accidents and one public assist.
Further complicating their job was the fact that the fires occurred just 25 minutes apart.
At 7:22 p.m. Monday, a fire was reported at the Alpine Inn on U.S. 2 East. According to Evergreen Fire Rescue Captain Ryan Pitts, the fire started in a ceiling light fixture.
The resident had been having some electrical issues and called an electrician to investigate the problem.
While working on the fixture, the electrician located wires that were red hot, according to Pitts.
Before any action could be taken to deal with the wires, they started a fire in the trusses above the room.
“We were able to get it stopped before it extended to the rest of the attic by pulling the ceiling down entirely in that apartment,” Pitts said.
It took the department, along with assistance from the Kalispell Fire Department, about an hour to get the fire under control. No one was injured, but two people were displaced and are being assisted by American Red Cross volunteers.
While firefighters were dealing with the Alpine Inn fire, a call came in for another fire on South Cedar Street.
That fire also was caused by an electrical problem, this one dealing with a bathroom exhaust fan, and was confined to the bathroom area.
Assistance for the second fire came from the Kalispell, West Valley and the South Kalispell fire Departments. The Whitefish Fire Department provided medical standby. No one was injured.
No damage estimates are available for either fire.
Reporter Jesse Davis may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at jdavis@dailyinterlake.com.