Men escape, but house destroyed in fire

Two men in their 20s escaped a house fire in the early morning hours of Wednesday, Aug. 21, but the home at 286 Third Avenue West North in Columbia Falls was a complete loss.

Columbia Falls fire chief Rick Hagen said the two men were in the basement and the fire had blocked the only stairway out of the basement. A nearby resident was able to break out a window with a 2-by-4 and pull one man through the window. Columbia Falls Police Det. Steve Hughes pulled the second man out.

The fire started on a deck outside the home and then started the house on fire. Hagen said the exact cause is still under investigation, but the fire is considered accidental. The home is considered a complete loss.

A neighbor saw flames shooting out a window of the home and called 911. Firefighters got the call at 5:33 a.m. and were on the scene by 5:46 a.m., Hagen said.

Contrary to a broadcast media report, Columbia Falls firemen were first on the scene, although the company did call in Bad Rock, Evergreen and Whitefish fire departments for mutual aid.

The owner of the house was baby-sitting a grandchild in Kalispell and was not in the home at the time.

The blaze also burned a tree next to the house, but firefighters quickly knocked it down. Hagen said that with such tinder-dry conditions, the fire had the potential to be much worse.