Police, fire report: Avenue blocked for two hours due to blaze

Officials blocked Northeast 66th Avenue between about Northeast 51st Circle and 58th streets for about two hours Wednesday afternoon as firefighters worked to extinguish a house fire.

The fire was in a residence at 5405 N.E. 66th Ave., in east Minnehaha The blaze caused considerable smoke damage and moderate structural damage inside the residence, said Jim Flaherty, Vancouver Fire Department firefighter-spokesman.

No people were injured, but a small dog died.

The fire was reported by neighbors at 3:08 p.m. and firefighters arrived four minutes later.

No one was home so firefighters forced the front door open and found the front room in flames that were spreading to the attic.

It took about 20 minutes to control the flames. Much of the home was saved, Flaherty said.

The cause and dollar damage estimate weren’t immediately available.

County records show the home is owned by Eugene and Teri Laddusaw.

Three east Vancouver schools were placed under lockdown Wednesday morning after a teacher reported seeing a student with what appeared to be a shotgun in the Union High School parking lot. After investigation, police discovered it was actually a BB gun.

After an extensive search of the parking lots at Union and nearby Illahee Elementary School and Shahala Middle School, Vancouver police officers found and questioned the student. It wasn’t clear why the student had a BB gun, but police spokeswoman Kim Kapp said no threats were made.

The lockdowns caused a minor disruption at Shahala as buses were briefly delayed. The school was operating on an early-release schedule and had dismissed classes at 11:30, said Evergreen School District spokeswoman Carol Fenstermacher.

Classes at Union had been dismissed before the gun report.

School officials will decide what action to take on the situation today, Fenstermacher said. Policy calls for an emergency expulsion for any students with a firearm, including a BB gun.

The student’s name was not available.