PULLMAN, Wash. – A fire heavily damaged two apartment units Tuesday evening at the Cougar Ridge Apartments after a kitchen fire spread throughout an apartment and damaged a neighboring apartment.
Pullman firefighters, along with Whitman County Rural Fire District 12, responded to the fire shortly after 7:00 p.m. with a report of a fully engulfed apartment fire. Fire Chief Mike Heston was in the south part of Pullman and said he could see the glow from the fire and immediately called in a second alarm.
Pullman police officers made sure the apartment building was evacuated and managed to rescue two dogs from the building. Later, firefighters found a cat in an adjacent apartment unit that had inhaled some smoke and brought it to safety. Firefighters turned the cat over to an animal control officer who later re-united the cat with its owner.
Firefighters were told by the resident that he was frying donuts in the kitchen and said he thought he had shut off the stove before taking a shower. When he emerged from the bathroom, he found the kitchen in flames. The resident said he rushed outside and broke the glass for the fire extinguisher. The resident cut his hand in the process. He said he tried to extinguish the flames but then retreated and waited for firefighters to arrive.
Heston said crews were able to extinguish the fire quickly but the fire had spread through a common attic which took the flames to the neighboring apartment unit. Fire officials said the apartment where the fire started was totally destroyed. There was some damage to the adjacent apartment but the extent of the damage has not yet been determined.
The American Red Cross responded to help house the two residents but since both were Washington State University students, the university found housing for the students.
Fire investigators were on the scene of the fire and would be spending most of the evening determining the extent of damage and pinpointing the exact cause of the fire.
