Fires damage Kennewick homes. 2 juveniles seen running from one
Kennewick police are looking for information about two juveniles seen running from a house fire Tuesday.
Flames broke out in the back of a vacant single-family home at 311 S. Auburn St. just after 12:45 p.m.
Firefighters could see the smoke from their Auburn Street fire station and arrived within minutes. They were able to douse most of the fire from the outside, Fire Chief Chad Michael said in a news release.
Inside, doors were closed, helping to keep the fire contained to the single back room.
The house has been for sale for a while and there are signs people who shouldn’t be there have been coming and going, said Michael.
While the fire is suspicious, Michael said they haven’t determined whether it was intentionally set, or if the two seen running from the area where connected to the blaze.
Anyone with information about the fire is asked to contact Kennewick police at 509-237-0354.
Sunday fire
It was the second house fire in Kennewick since Sunday.
The chief said fire crews were called to a house on fire at 1001 S Taft St. at 2:40 a.m. Two adults and two teens were inside when one of the adults heard “popping sounds.” She went to check and found the house burning. Everyone made it outside safely but the house was damaged.
Fire officials determined that some oily rags had spontaneously combusted after being left in a trash can outside and ignited a row of arborvitae bushes and shed before spreading to the attic of the house.
To prevent that problem, fire officials said oil and stain soaked rags should not be piled or bailed into a tight mass. Instead, allow rags to dry thoroughly on the ground or on a metal rack until completely dry before disposing of them.
