Fire destroys Finley home, leaves firefighters, deputies searching for man who lived there
A Finley house fire had deputies and firefighters searching the property in the dark for the man who lived in the home.
Firefighters were called to 226704 E. Bowles Road about 11:15 p.m. Thursday after people spotted the home burning, Benton County Fire District 1 said in a Facebook post.
Other people living at the property had seen the man who lived in the house about 45 minutes before the flames started. They hadn’t seen him leave, said Jenna Roberts, the district’s public information officer. The resident is known for wandering around the rural community.
Firefighters searched the burning house, but couldn’t find him inside, the fire district said. Benton County sheriff’s deputies on the scene used a drone to search the property and found a burning hay bale in another part of the property.
The man was not found on the property.
The district firefighters were joined by an ambulance from Kennewick Fire Department. They put out the fire about 12:30 a.m. It had destroyed the home by that point.
None of the firefighters were hurt, and it’s still not clear what happened to the man, Roberts said.
The Benton County Sheriff’s Office is investigating how the fire started.
Benton County Sheriff’s Lt. Mike Clark told the Herald that detectives are still early in their investigation.
He said at this point, there is isn’t any reason to believe the home’s resident is missing or in any danger or connected to the fires.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Benton County Sheriff’s Office at 509-735-6555.
The fire came a day after six people were forced to flee a house fire in Richland on the 500 block of Adams Road. Flames started on the back porch and spread into the attic about 4 p.m., according to Richland fire officials.
This story was originally published March 21, 2025 at 12:35 PM.