Blaze chars Haskill Basin home

A fire ripped through the home of Whitefish resident Tracey Thomas early Wednesday morning, leaving the interior of her two-story Haskill Basin Road house charred and uninhabitable.

No one was injured in the fire, even though six people were sleeping in the house at the time of the blaze. The fire is believed to have started at an electrical outlet near the back porch or in the living room.

Chris Suta, a resident of the home, was alerted to the fire after a smoke detector sounded and a family dog scratched at his bedroom door on the second floor of the house.

"Chris was the first to see the fire and yelled, 'Everybody get out, fire,'" Thomas said.

Thomas then called 911, woke up her daughter who was sleeping downstairs and got everyone out of the house.

As the blaze swept through the living room and caught an upright piano on fire, Thomas' son, Tristan, began grabbing and throwing items in the room away from the flames.

He then attempted to put out the fire with a garden hose, but quickly realized the small stream had no effect on the growing flames that were now in the roof rafters.

"Then I decided to cut my losses," Tristan said.

He went for the family guns to save them from the blaze, many of which are relics and valuable. "Typical of a Montanan," he said about thinking to save the guns first.

Thomas only had time to grab three things before the blaze overwhelmed the house — her cell phone, laptop computer and purse.

Whitefish firefighters responded at about 7:30 a.m. and quickly extinguished the flames. The entire second floor of the house was destroyed, and the first floor suffered significant water and smoke damage

"We lost everything," Thomas said, fighting back her emotions as she walked through the remants of the living room. "You hate to think of all the work you put in (to the house)."

A few keepsakes were salvaged from the fire, including a stack of framed family photos that were on the floor of Thomas' bedroom and her late husband's ring.

Thomas' husband, Kirk Thomas, died this past fall at the age of 55. He owned NorskStar Seafood, which is still operating from her property on Haskill Basin Road. Thomas' son Tristan and Suta manage the seafood business.

The ring was found unscathed by Heather Bellings, of the Whitefish Fire Department.

"I have to give Whitefish Fire Department kudos for getting here so quickly and helping save some of our keepsakes," Thomas said.

Thomas had only been home from a stint in Alaska for a few days before the fire broke out. She will be moving back to Juneau in three weeks for a teaching position.

"I had just finished three big loads of laundry," she said. "But we're going to get through this. You have to try and stay positive."

Safeway grocery store in Whitefish has donated food to the Thomas family, and neighbors and friends have stepped in to offer clothing and wall tents for shelter. Thomas says they will set up a tent city of sorts until they figure out what to do with the house.

The family is unable to stay in a hotel because they have three dogs.