PULLMAN, Wash. -- Washington State University and Pullman city fire investigators are trying to determine the cause of a blaze early Tuesday morning that destroyed a common building at a campus housing complex.
Pullman Fire Department operations officer Mike Heston said there were no injuries from the fire that broke out shortly before 5 a.m. at the Nez Perce Village near the student recreation center. Two adjacent apartment buildings were evacuated as a precaution. The two-level community building, which does not house any students, was a total loss.
About 15 firefighters from Pullman and Whitman County Fire District 12 responded to find the approximately 2,000-square-foot structure fully engulfed in flames, Heston said. Since the building was already fully involved, they initially focused on protecting nearby buildings.
Firefighters then attacked the fire with two deck-mounted water cannons and had it knocked down within 10 minutes. But Heston said since the building was small, with an open floor plan, it burned quickly. It was also in an area of campus that isn't quickly accessible, which contributed to its complete destruction, he said.
Avista personnel responded to the scene to deactivate a nearby ground-mounted transformer that was smoking and arcing because of fire damage.
Pullman Fire Prevention Officer Rich Dragoo and WSU Fire Marshal Rod Holmes are investigating the cause of the fire, but Heston said as of midday Tuesday, they had not determined a cause or point of origin. A damage estimate was not available Tuesday.
Heston said since WSU's spring semester ended recently, there were only about a half-dozen students in the buildings that had to be evacuated.
Copyright 2012 - Lewiston Tribune, Idaho
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
