Kennewick apartment fire traps woman on balcony, leaves families without homes

Just a week and a half before Christmas, residents from three apartments have been forced out of their homes after a kitchen fire started at a Kennewick complex.

But Fire Chief Chad Michael said the damage at the Copper Ridge Apartments on Tuesday could have been much worse if it wasn’t for an automatic sprinkler system.

A woman was cooking in her third floor apartment on the 5500 block of Hildebrand Boulevard about 5 p.m. when an oil fire started in one of her pots, Michael told the Herald.

The woman grabbed the pan and ran outside onto the balcony, but the door shut and locked behind her.

While the fire in the pot went out, it had started a small fire in her apartment that triggered calls to 911.

The first firefighters arrived on the scene to see a dark column of black smoke coming from the third floor apartment, and a woman standing outside of the door on a balcony.

They quickly learned she wasn’t in danger, but had become stuck outside when she was moving a burning pot of oil onto the balcony.

All the other occupants of the apartment building were able to make it outside before firefighters arrived on the scene.

When firefighters went into the building, they soon learned that an automatic sprinkler system had contained the fire to the kitchen of one apartment.

Crews put out the remaining fire inside of the building and used a ladder to stay with the woman, until she could safely leave through her apartment.

Firefighters had help from Kennewick police and the Benton PUD.

Water damage from the sprinklers left three apartments uninhabitable, The American Red Cross worked with the fire department chaplain to help several families find a place to stay.

No one was hurt.

The Red Cross has a program that helps residents who are displaced by fires and other disasters. Donations can be made on their website.

This story was originally published December 13, 2023 at 2:14 PM.