Fire at 70-year-old downtown Kennewick business snarls Columbia Drive traffic
Kennewick fire and rescue crews responded to a fire at a longtime downtown business on Tuesday morning.
About 10 fire department units were dispatched just before 9 a.m. to Kennewick Industrial and Electrical Supply (KIE) at 113 E. Columbia Drive.
Deputy Fire Chief Michael Heffner told the Tri-City Herald materials stacked next to a heater caught fire. When firefighters arrived, they found the fire in a small room in a concrete block building east of a KIE showroom.
They were able to quickly put the fire out, and the damage was contained to the materials and the heater.
Westbound drivers on Columbia Drive were diverted around the scene for about a half hour while firefighters investigated.
KIE is a third-generation family-owned and operated company that’s been serving residential and commercial customers in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho since 1955, according to its website.
The Columbia Drive location has a public showroom with large storage and warehouse buildings.
This story was originally published July 8, 2025 at 9:48 AM.