Multiple Departments Respond to Kennewick Structure Fire

(Kennewick, WA) -- Multiple fire departments working together to put out a house fire in Kennewick early Monday morning. Units from KFD, Richland Fire & Emergency Services, and Benton County Fire District #1 responded to a residence at 714 N Nelson Street. Responders arrived to find a garage attached to a split entry home on fire. One adult male and two children were asleep in the home at the time of the blaze. The man was the first to wake up after he heard strange crackling noises and smelled a faint odor of smoke.

Although the home had working smoke detectors, none of them were activated until he opened the door leading into the garage. Fortunately, the man was able to shut the door and evacuate his children. No one was hurt. The cause of the fire is being investigated.

Firefighters say the conscious decision by the man to close the door played an important role in preventing the fire from spreading into the home before firefighters arrived.