Ronan bar fire destroys building

Ronan firefighters jumped out of bed at about 3:40 a.m. this morning to respond to the call of smoke coming from the Pheasant Lounge in Ronan, Mark Clary, Ronan Fire Chief said.

 “When I got on scene, the fire was coming from the roof,” he said.

The lounge is housed in two separate but adjoining buildings along Main Street in Ronan. The fire originated in the easternmost building and appeared to have started near the center of the room, Clary said.

Clary requested additional fire crews from Charlo, Polson City and Polson Rural fire departments, he said.

“I didn’t want to lose a block of town,” Clary said. “So I called for mutual aid right away.”

Clary said that at some point in time, the lounge owner, who occupied the easternmost building, purchased the building next door, transforming the two adjoining spaces into one bar, split by a partially-removed adjoining wall.

Clary said the un-altered portion of that wall likely stopped the fire from progressing from one building to the other one.

“The east half of the bar is well fire-damaged,” he said. “The westernmost side is smoke and water damaged.”

Firefighters extinguished the fire within a few hours, he said.

Clary said the Pheasant Lounge was not open for business Saturday night, but was closed at noon so the bar owner could participate in an out-of-area classic car rally.

The owner was notified and arrived on scene shortly later, he said.

A Montana Fire Marshal was called to the scene and the fire is under investigation.