Kennewick house burns twice in one day. Firefighters are still investigating why

Firefighters spent Tuesday sifting through the debris of a Dayton Street home after fire tore through it twice.

Kennewick firefighters were called to the home on the 2200 block shortly after 1:30 p.m. Monday. The homeowner and a friend had gotten outside safely, said Capt. Brian Ellis.

The firefighters worked to extinguish the fire for about an hour and a half. It burned about a third of the home with most of the damage in the kitchen.

The homeowner was not there when a second blaze flared up about 5:30 p.m. This time the flames ravaged the 47-year-old house valued by Benton County assessors at $221,500.

Fire Chief Vince Beasley said he responded to the scene after the second fire started. He said Tuesday he was surprised by how intense the fire was.

Normally neighbors spot some smoke and call 911, but by the time neighbors called the second time, the plume was visible from the west end of the city.

Pasco Fire Department and Benton County Fire District 1 helped fight the blaze.

Firefighters kept an eye on the charred home throughout the night to make sure it didn’t rekindle, and investigators returned Tuesday morning to begin their investigation.

Right now, Ellis said, they are looking at the blaze as two separate fires.

It’s likely going to take them days to figure out what happened, he said, adding that the electricity and gas had been shut off before firefighters left the first time.

The homeowner’s son drove over from Seattle to help his mother, who is currently staying in a hotel.

This story was originally published April 30, 2019 at 12:45 PM.