Occupants Flee Two Kennewick Fires Tuesday Afternoon

Kennewick fire crews were kept busy Tuesday afternoon with a pair of fires about 40 minutes apart.

 One fire torches business, the other a four-plex

Around noon Tuesday, Kennewick Fire Chief Chad Michael says units were sent to 1328 East 3rd. Ave, for a report of a fire inside a commercial building. Upon arrival, smoke was seen pouring from the metal building.

The 40 by 200-foot structure housed five different businesses and within 27 minutes of arrival, the fire was out. Whipping winds of nearly 20 MPH made suppression difficult and re-ignited from ceiling and roof timbers but they were brought under control. Fortunately, no one was hurt, and fast work by crews confined the fire to only one-third of the building.

  Another fire was reported 40 minutes later

Then, crews responded to a fire at a four-plex residential unit at 1109 South Olympia Place, and firefighters saw significant fire activity on the porch area. There were also initial reports that some of the occupants were unable to get out of the two-story building due to the flames.

Water immediately began being poured onto the structure, and the fire was quickly put out with help from Pasco and Benton County Fire units as well. As for the occupants, Kennewick Police told firefighters one person was able to get out of the building but had suffered some second-degree burns in the process. That person was treated at the scene and then taken to an area hospital.

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A second occupant who suffered minor injuries was taken by a private vehicle to the hospital.

While the fire was able to be extinguished quickly, extensive smoke and water impacts on the building will make it unliveable until repairs can be made.

KFD did not give an immediate cause of the 3rd Ave. commercial fire, they did say the Olympia Place fire was unintentional but did not elaborate.