Firefighters north of Washougal late Wednesday night remained at the scene of a blaze that destroyed a two-story home at 530 S.E. Blair Road several hours earlier, to make sure the smoldering pile didn’t re-ignite.
Staff and volunteers with East County Fire & Rescue rushed to the home at 3:25 p.m. Wednesday.
A large plume of smoke was -reported as soon as the call came in. Firefighters arrived to find the rear of the home engulfed in flames, according to emergency radio traffic monitored at The Columbian.
Firefighters trained their hoses on the flames from outside to try to stop them from spreading, and said they were hearing what sounded like explosions from inside.
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It was too dangerous to send firefighters inside. The house was collapsing, and that was believed the cause of the popping noises, officials radioed.
At 3:55 p.m., an official radioed that the house was unoccupied when the fire broke out. Firefighters were working to protect an outbuilding.
Shortly after 5 p.m., Fire Chief Scott Koehler, the incident commander, radioed to firefighters a warning that they were getting tired, the building couldn’t be saved and was collapsing — and to “be careful.”
Rick Knapp, a volunteer and spokesman with the fire department, said at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday that firefighters were still there to monitor the smoldering pile and likely would remain longer.
The destroyed building remained unsafe for firefighters to enter, so they stayed dousing it with water from outside.
“It’s going to take awhile,” Knapp said. “This was a big fire.”
It’s a rural area with the nearest home about 100 yards away, Knapp said.
A Clark County deputy fire marshal, who arrived at dusk, also couldn’t enter safely, so there was no word on the cause or dollar damage estimate, Knapp said. A car parked outside the home was destroyed by heat from the blaze.
Firefighters from Washougal and Camas helped at the scene. Clark County sheriff’s deputies helped with traffic control.
Knapp is one of several volunteers with the Emergency Support Team who drove a bus to the scene with water and food for tired firefighters, and as a place for them to warm up and rest.
Southeast Blair Road starts along Washougal River Road and heads northwest along the Little Washougal River to Fern Prairie, north of Camas.
The home is owned by Jon and Billinda Jantzer, according to county records. The property is assessed at about $355,000, with the house assessed at about $224,000.
