Cooperation pays off on busy day for fire calls

A busy day for local fire departments Wednesday demonstrated the success first responders have in working together when a deluge comes through dispatch at once.

The trouble started with a fire at 970 Spring Hill Road about 2 1/2 miles from Smith Lake. Crews from Smith Valley, West Valley, Marion, Evergreen and South Kalispell fire departments showed up to battle the blaze after the call came in at 1:48 p.m.

Smith Valley firefighters, arriving first at the home that was fully engulfed in flames, used the water in their trucks but needed a water tanker. Marion Fire Chief James Brower radioed Smith Valley Fire Chief D.C. Haas to offer his help.

“He called and said he was passing by our hall,” Haas said. “He asked if we needed our tender. He drove it up the hill. It’s another example of departments working together.”

Don Hamilton’s home, hit with the second fire in five weeks after arson damaged the house Dec. 20, was a total loss. A sheriff’s deputy responded to the fire scene to investigate.

Sheriff Chuck Curry said it was just an unfortunate accident.

“The owner of the residence was going to repair some damage from the first fire,” he said. “He turned the power on, heard a pop, and smelled smoke. It was an electrical-caused fire. No arson this time. The wires were likely damaged from the last fire.”

Haas said there were about 20 firefighters out on the hill when another call came in.

“We got a call about a motor vehicle accident near mile marker 106 [on U.S. 2],” he said. “We were still out in Smith Lake so we gave a call to Kalispell City [Fire Department]. They went way out of their jurisdiction to help us out.”

Kalispell Fire Chief Dave Dedman said the interagency cooperation is some of the most important work the departments can do.

“It’s awesome. We’re all dedicated to help each other,” he said. “But this kind of thing happens every day. We live in a pretty large valley, and you’ll see multiple [motor vehicle accidents] and other incidents which we need to respond to.”

The accident on U.S. 2 was well out of Kalispell’s jurisdiction, but with Smith Valley, West Valley and South Kalispell occupied fighting a rural structure fire with water tankers, Dedman and his crews didn’t have time to draw lines on the map. That crash at 4:06 p.m. eventually involved ferrying an injured motorist to the hospital using West Flathead EMS.

To make things worse, a garage fire was called in at around 6:15 p.m. on Essex Place just north of Glacier High School — well within the jurisdiction of West Valley Fire Department. However, West Valley crews were still busy at the Spring Hill Road fire until 8:30 p.m.

Thus is was up to Kalispell to respond again. Kalispell’s north fire hall is just down the road from Essex Place.

“We were hopscotching each other,” Haas said. “It’s nice to see people working together. It’s didn’t used to be that way. I’m glad the Flathead has learned to share its toys with other people.”

The fire in the attached garage could have caused considerable damage.

“We had the first few crews there,” Dedman said. “We were able to knock down the fire. There was definitely fire damage and contents were lost, but it didn’t penetrate the attic space. There will have to be some remodeling done.”

While one structure was lost and another damaged, it’s easy to see how things could have been worse if communication between agencies had been delayed.

But, as the firefighters will tell you, that’s just another day on the job.

Reporter Ryan Murray may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at rmurray@dailyinterlake.com.