Juvenile jail evacuated when furnace malfunctions

A furnace malfunction Thursday morning at the Flathead County Juvenile Detention Center in Kalispell set off smoke alarms and resulted in a brief evacuation of inmates. 

Kalispell firefighters were called to the center — just south of the courthouse — at approximately 9:15 a.m. 

Kalispell Fire Chief Dave Dedman said that the motor bearings on the furnace had worn out, resulting in a “fair amount” of smoke in the facility. Inmates were secured outside the building while the electric fan system cleared out the smoke, which took about half an hour. 

“It’s a smaller furnace system in that building,” Dedman said. “From time to time, equipment will wear out and have a failure. It happens.” 

Dedman used the incident to remind the public to have furnace systems serviced regularly by a qualified professional and make sure that home smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors are working properly.