Barbecue sparks house fire near Whitefish

A hot charcoal grill is likely the cause of a fire that ripped through a house on Farm to Market Road near Whitefish early Friday morning.

Whitefish fire crews responded to the scene at 2 a.m. and found a wood porch fully engulfed with flames creeping inside through broken windows.

Whitefish Interim Fire Chief Joe Page said all of the residents and a pet cat made it out of the house unharmed before emergency crews arrived.

The home isn’t a total loss, but Page says the house is not livable due to extensive smoke and heat damage. The fire destroyed a porch, bedroom, bathroom and a few closets.

The residents told Page they were using a charcoal grill the evening before the fire. Page said a hot coal likely fell onto the wood porch to set off the blaze.

Fire crews from Whitefish, Kalispell, Evergreen, West Valley, Columbia Falls and Olney responded. Crews were on the scene until 5:36 a.m.