Cause of dramatic fire being investigated after it consumes a home east of Kennewick

Investigators are still trying to determine what started a dramatic blaze that destroyed a Finley home Tuesday evening.

A man living on the property on Cochran Road east of Kennewick reported hearing a number of pops. When he went to investigate, he discovered the house was on fire and tried to use a garden hose to extinguish it, said Jenna Kochenauer, Benton County Fire District 1 public information officer.

At the same time, a neighbor spotted the smoke coming from what he thought was a shop and called 911 about 6:30 p.m.

Fire crews arrived to find flames shooting through the roof of the manufactured home. Firefighters worked on containing the blaze to the house but it was too dangerous to enter.

While no one apparently was living in the house, it had electricity.

The district was helped by the Kennewick Fire Department and Franklin County Fire District 3. Firefighters kept the blaze contained to the house.

Crews remained on the scene for several hours putting out area that rekindled.

Investigators planned to return to the house on Wednesday, but it was unclear how safe the building was going to be to enter, Kochenauer told the Herald.

While the cause hasn’t been determined, she said there are no signs at this point that the fire was suspicious.