The cause of a two-alarm fire that destroyed an abandoned building near downtown Whitefish remained under investigation Monday.   

The Whitefish Fire Department responded to the structure fire at the corner of Edgewood Place and Wisconsin Avenue on Sunday at about 7 p.m. Upon arrival, crews encountered a fully involved fire with conditions too dangerous to allow entry.   

Using various apparatus, the fire was fought in a defensive mode using aerial master streams. Neighboring structures, including the Alpenglow Apartments complex and the Piggyback BBQ restaurant, were successfully protected.  

All responding units cleared the scene early Monday at about 2 a.m.  

The building, owned by Larry O’Shaughnessy, housed many businesses over the years, including Snappy’s Grocery, the original Hell Roaring Saloon, a noodle house, a steakhouse, a Pizza Hut and finally O'Piccolo’s Pizza before closing about three decades ago.* 

It has remained empty ever since.  

Longtime residents on social media shared fond memories of the building, from Bob Frank’s butcher counter in Snappy’s, to playing games in Pizza Hut, to calzone-family favorite dinners in O’Piccolo’s.  

A set of intricate wooden doors was all that remained in the rubble of the fire on Monday.  

The initial response included an engine, tender, ambulance and command staff from the Whitefish Fire Department, an engine from Evergreen Fire Rescue, a ladder truck from Kalispell Fire Department, an engine from the Columbia Falls Fire Department and a Big Mountain Fire ambulance.  

Due to the size and intensity of the fire, a second alarm was requested, bringing in an additional ladder truck from Columbia Falls, a second engine and ambulance from Whitefish, and additional command staff.  

Heavy equipment was brought in by Whitefish Public Works to assist in extinguishing the remaining hot spots and ensure the structure was fully extinguished.  

During the fire, police officers directed traffic coming off the viaduct onto Edgewood instead of Wisconsin Avenue. As smoke increased, the viaduct was temporarily closed. 

Reeves Stanwood, owner of next door Piggyback BBQ, said on Monday that the fire was a long time coming.  

Stanwood had just gotten home to Happy Valley for the day on Sunday when his son called about the fire. By the time he turned onto U.S. 93 to come back to the restaurant, he could see smoke rising high into the sky.

“When I saw it was going, I was like, here we go,” Stanwood said. “I’ve been here for 15 years. I’ve called the police about the vagrants camping out in the building. I’ve even talked to Mr. O'Shaughnessy himself.”  

Stanwood said employees saw the fire start toward the back of the building.  

“The back door of the building has been open for forever,” he said. “Fortunately, the wind wasn’t blowing last night. If it was, we might have not had a restaurant today.”

* Update: Property records indicate the commercial structure was built in 1972.