Fire burns Terrace Hill home

Virginia King was at home with her 3-year-old daughter Friday morning when she heard an explosion in the basement apartment of her rental house on Terrace Hill Road in Bigfork.

Within the next few minutes, that explosion would turn into a fire that would consume the entire house, all of the King family's possessions and their four kittens.

Roughly 30 area volunteer fire departments responded to that house fire Friday morning at 145 Terrace Hill, behind the Bigfork schools, but the house was considered a total loss within minutes, said Chief Wayne Loeffler of the Bigfork Volunteer Fire Department.

Local firefighters received the call to the fire at roughly 8:20 a.m. Firefighters from Bigfork, Ferndale and Creston responded to the scene. The fire was not considered clear until shortly before 4 p.m.

King, her daughter and roommate Lissa Horn, who had been living with the family for a month, escaped the house safely, but Horn attempted, unsuccessfully, to go back in for the kittens.

She ended up being transported to Kalispell Regional Medical Center and put on oxygen from inhaling too much carbon monoxide. She was released a few hours later and has recovered.

The family's two adult cats also made it out of the house. The King family also includes Virginia's husband Chris, boys ages 17 and 8 and another girl age 6 who were not at home at the time.

The explosion was heard by neighbors in the surrounding area and was so powerful that it blew the house's garage doors right off, Virginia King said.

Loeffler said the structure was older and the material caught fire quickly. No other homes or structures were damaged in the fire.

Investigators were unable to determine the cause of the fire. The fire appears to have originated on the north side of the structure, Loeffler said.

The house is split into a three-bedroom unit upstairs and a one-bedroom apartment on the lower level. The apartment was used by the house's owners for guests and workers, King said. The house's owner lives in South Dakota.

This fire was the maiden voyage of Bigfork's new ladder truck acquired last December. Loeffler said the truck was an asset for this particular fire, allowing crews to get water power to other areas of the scene.

"It really made a difference," Loeffler said about the truck.

The family lost everything in the fire, including the children's baby pictures, and the place they had called home since last December.

"How can you tell a 3-year-old that she can't go home?" Virginia King said. "Everything was burned. Nothing was salvageable."

The Kings have since been put up in Timbers Motel and community members have rallied support for the family.

The Bigfork Area Chamber of Commerce sent out a call to members to help the King family Friday afternoon. Donations for the family are being collected at Harvest Foods, where Chris King is employed.

Manager Marcus Balgos said the store has been overrun with responses from the people of Bigfork.

"It's a small community and everyone is coming together," Balgos said.

Balgos received calls all day Friday from people wanting to help, including offers to make dinners, throw a birthday party for the 17-year-old child whose birthday it was the day of the fire, and provide the family use of currently for sale townhouse while they look for a new place.

Balgos said donated items are being stored in shopping carts until the Kings find a new residence.

Donations were also being collected at the tailgate and customer appreciation party hosted by Flathead Bank prior to the Homecoming football game Friday.

Virginia King said the owners of Harvest Foods purchased new wardrobes for the children. As of Saturday, she said she already has more donated clothes than she needs.

People have also been calling the motel every 10 minutes offering support, she said.

"You don't even know how lucky we are to have people like this helping us," King said.