A multiplex apartment building on Fourth Avenue West was ruined by an afternoon fire Sunday in Columbia Falls, but no one was injured.
The exact cause of the fire was still under investigation Monday, but it’s considered accidental in nature, Columbia Falls Fire Chief Karl Weeks said. The fire started just before 2 p.m. in apartment No. 3. The building had nine units total. There is a 10th apartment, but it was in a separate building.
The explosions people heard were fireworks and ammunition going off after the fire started, Weeks said.
Resident Brandon Beland said he was sitting on his couch when he saw a neighbor running around in the yard. The neighbor said the apartment building was on fire.
He said he heard banging from an apartment above his. He then heard that there was a dog left in an apartment and the owner wasn’t home. He charged upstairs, ran through the door and saved the dog, a pug named Shadow.