Crestivew duplex damaged in fire

Fire crews from both the Bigfork and Creston fire departments responded to a house fire at a duplex in Crestview at approximately 9:15 p.m. Sunday night.

A woman and a child were inside of the home when the fire started, but both occupants were able to get out safely before fire personnel arrived at the scene. The residents of the adjacent townhouse also escaped unharmed.

According to Bigfork fire chief Wayne Loeffler, the fire apparently started in the unit’s laundry room — possibly due to an electrical malfunction.

“The lady who called it in was inside (of the unit) and said she saw smoke coming out from the laundry area,” Loeffler said.

When responders arrived at the scene, there were flames coming out of the front entrance of the home, which is located at 115 Church Street, just north of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

“We pulled out some hoses and attacked with a two-and-half-inch line,” Loeffler said. “We got a real good knock-down. There wasn’t much spread.”

Loeffler said fire crews were able to contain the blaze to the front porch and laundry areas. He estimated that about 25 percent of the structure was burned.

“The living quarters did suffer some smoke damage,” Loeffler noted.

Once the primary fire was under control, firefighters checked the entire structure for fire damage.

“We checked for extensions to see if it had spread at all, and we looked at the other part of the duplex,” Loeffler said. “There was a little bit of smoke in that (part of the) building, but nothing major.”

According to Loeffler, five trucks and 23 individuals — 12 from Creston and 11 from Bigfork — responded to the call.

Crews remained on the scene until about 12:30 a.m.