Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Tekoa firefighters extinguished a fire in an upstairs apartment on Sept. 9.
TEKOA — Three of Wheatland Apartments units in Tekoa were damaged during a fire on Sept. 9.
“A neighbor called it in and said there was fire coming out the windows,” said Whitman County Fire District 1 Fire Chief Donovan Chase. “The fire started in the kitchen.”
Fire destroyed the upstairs apartment. No one was inside during the fire. No injuries were reported to firefighters, residents, or their pets.
“All the plastics in the apartment were melted,” said Chase. “It got hot in there … It’ll be a complete remodel.”
The apartment next to it was damaged by smoke and the apartment beneath it was damaged by water.
“There’s quite a bit of damage in the bottom apartment. The whole ceiling needs to be replaced,” he said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. A preliminary review determined it started in the kitchen.
Wheatland Apartments has eight units and three were damaged. The rental housing at 320 East Alder Street is for low-income families using a Project-Based Section 8 contract with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to subsidize rent.
Damage to apartments wasn’t limited to the fire, some were damaged by firefighters.
“We cleared the whole building and had to do some forcible entries on a few apartments,” said Chase. “We didn’t know if anyone was in there or not … we wanted to keep everyone safe.”
The firefighters kept the apartments empty of residents for about three hours while they fought the fire and mopped up.
Whitman County fire districts 1 and 7 responded due to a lack of available firefighters in Tekoa when the 9-1-1 call came in.
“Three-quarters of our crew was at the fair,” said Chase.
Tekoa firefighters found ways to get back and do their job. The chief hitched a ride with a Whitman County sheriff’s deputy.
Six trucks responded with nine firefighters. They were at the scene for about four hours.
Bill Stevenson is the former editor of the Whitman County Gazette, Colfax Daily Bulletin and Franklin Connection. He has nearly 30 years of journalism experience covering news in Eastern Washington.
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