Officials identify fire victims

Officials have released the names of a mother and her child who died in a house fire Monday.

Brittany Kayleen Ince, 30, and her son, Gavin Thomas Henrichon, 3, were trapped in the basement as fire consumed the home on Trumble Creek Road, south of Whitefish.

Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry identified the victims on Tuesday.

Officials knew early on that two occupants were unaccounted for. It took hours of excavating the debris before the bodies were recovered.

The fire started shortly after 9 a.m. Monday and quickly filled the two-story home. Two people escaped from the basement and second floor.

According to a crowd-funding site that was set up to help the family, Gene Hallas awoke to the smoke and was forced to jump from the second-floor window.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, according to Columbia Falls Fire Chief Rick Hagen. An interagency investigation team will investigate the incident.

The donation site was set up on a GoFundMe account and can be found on the company’s page. The North Valley Eagles Club, 1640 U.S. 2 E. in Columbia Falls, also is taking donations for the Hallas family; call 892-4081 for further information.