LETTER: Thanks for saving business from fire

I would like to extend my thanks to Kalispell Police Department and Kalispell Fire Department for their excellence in responding to a fire at Dermatology Associates in Kalispell last week.  

It’s believed that someone tossed a cigarette into the shrubs next to our medical clinic sometime before the clinic opened Tuesday morning. By mid-morning, after smoldering undiscovered in the mulch for some time, the fire burst into tall flames. With conditions as dry as they are in the valley, the flames rapidly escalated and would have threatened the entire building — and perhaps the adjacent Glacier Neurosciences Building — had it not been for the prompt and professional work of our first responders.  

KPD was first on the scene; officers used fire extinguishers to suppress the flames until KFD arrived to extinguish them.

With all of our patients and staff evacuated from the building and standing by with grave concern, the women and men of Kalispell Police and Fire saved our workplace. I believe that had it not been for the quick action of the police officers, the Fire Department would have had a much bigger fire to deal with when they arrived. Instead, we were back to work within half an hour and we are able to continue to serve our patients.

We hear a lot of negative news about law enforcement these days, but our community is fortunate to have top-notch, dedicated law enforcement and emergency responders to be there when we need them.

Thank you, Kalispell Police and Fire Departments! —Sylvia Owen, Kalispell