Fire leads to police investigation
Jesse Davis | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 10 years, 10 months AGO
<p><strong>Firefighters from</strong> Kalispell, Evergreen and Smith Valley turned out to deal with a garage fire Friday morning on Sixth Avenue West in Kalispell. </p>
<p><strong>Kalispell firefighter</strong> Don Thibert prepares a rotary saw for Tim Gaston as they work on a garage fire on Friday morning in Kalispell. The rotary saw was needed when the firefighters discovered the garage door had been walled over from the inside. Firefighters had to cut through the garage door and the wall.</p><div> </div>
<p><strong>FIREFIGHTERS</strong> cut an opening Friday in a garage door that had been covered by an insulated interior wall.</p>
A garage fire in Kalispell Friday morning has resulted in a police investigation
According to Kalispell Fire Chief Dave Dedman, his agency was dispatched to 1441 Sixth Ave. W. home at 9:21 a.m.
The fire initially was reported by a 911 caller who hung up on a dispatcher before giving a name.
When firefighters arrived, heavy smoke and fire were coming from the exterior of the detached garage.
Firefighters put the fire out in roughly 15 minutes, then spent another half hour ensuring the fire had not spread into the walls or other spaces in the structure.
Power lines coming out of the garage also caught fire temporarily.
One challenge faced by firefighters was a framed and insulated wall built inside the garage doors. The wall had to be cut open.
“The fire department’s investigation is somewhat complete, however the police department is still investigating,” Dedman said Friday afternoon.
Due to the ongoing Kalispell Police investigation, Dedman declined to comment on the cause of the fire or any results of his agency’s investigation.
No one was injured in the fire, which is estimated to have caused $15,000 damage to the building and its contents, according to a fire department press release. Dedman said at the scene that no vehicles were damaged nor was the adjacent home.
Kalispell firefighters were assisted by Evergreen Fire Rescue, the Smith Valley Fire Department, Kalispell police, the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, Flathead Electric Cooperative and NorthWestern Energy.
A Smith Valley Fire Department vehicle at the scene was struck by a vehicle that slid through a stop sign at the intersection of Seventh Avenue West and Seventh Street West.
In an unrelated fire call, a homeowner a block away at 1304 Sixth Ave. W. reported smelling natural gas inside his home at the same time firefighters were battling the garage fire.
Evergreen units were released from the fire scene and “attended to an active gas leak” at the home with the assistance of NorthWestern Energy personnel.
Reporter Jesse Davis may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at jdavis@dailyinterlake.com.