Grateful for firemen, friends

We'd like to thank the Whitefish and Columbia Falls fire departments for their speedy response when we awoke to our house burning in the middle of Sunday night.

Dave Sipes' professionalism in gathering information and coordinating crews brought some calm to the crisis. With an efficient relay of two tankers supplying water for the hose truck, the fire crews jumped right in to control the flames.

While our home is a loss, their prompt actions contained the fire to prevent spreading into the surrounding woods and possibly neighboring houses.

The crews worked efficiently and are to be commended for their professionalism. With our growing community, we need to up the support for the stretched-thin fire departments. They have our heartfelt thanks.

We also want to thank all of our neighbors and friends who stayed all night. They came to our rescue with much needed clothing, hot drinks and breakfast and kept our spirits up.

Liz and Ed Maul

Whitefish