Fire damages home, kills dog

Hungry Horse News

An early morning blaze Wednesday left a Columbia Falls family homeless and killed one of their dogs.

The fire broke out about 3:30 a.m. at the Theabolt residence, 1028 South Nucleus Ave.

Lisa Theabolt said she happened to hear a crackling noise and discovered the house was on fire. She then screamed to her children, Tyler, Nick and Brittany, to get out of the house. A family friend who was also staying at the house escaped as well. They were able to get two of the three family dogs out of the house, but a third dog perished.

The Theabolts then ran to neighbor Rob James' house. James went with Nick back to the home with a fire extinguisher to see if they could save the third dog, but the house, particularly the garage, was engulfed. Any rescue attempt was impossible.

"It was thick," James said of the smoke. "That stuff goes right to your lungs."

Columbia Falls fire personnel and Three Rivers EMS were on the scene quickly. Firefighters knocked the flames down fast, and the fire was under control in minutes.

Bad Rock fire assisted in backup.

The Theabolts were renting the home, which was the longtime home of late Columbia Falls resident Al Reid.

The current owner of the home is reported to be Marty Dwyer, of Whitefish.

The cause of the blaze is under investigation.