Attic fire damages building in Sunnyside neighborhood

An attic fire damaged a building Saturday morning in the Sunnyside neighborhood, just off Northeast 117th Avenue.

Firefighters with the Vancouver Fire Department were dispatched to 9712 N.E. 117th Ave. at 7:49 a.m. after residents at a neighboring home called 911. The crew on the first arriving fire engine saw a plume of smoke from about a mile away and called for more engines, Capt. Joe Spatz said.

Firefighters determined that the fire was in the attic, which proved difficult to access because the building had apparently been remodeled with a new roof built at a different angle on top of the old roof, Spatz said. The fire was on both sides of the old roof, including the void between the two roofs.

“So, that makes it very hard to get to the fire,” Spatz said.

Extinguishing an attic fire typically involves putting holes in the ceiling and shooting water through those holes.

Most of the fire was extinguished in about 30 minutes, but firefighters remained on scene until mid-afternoon spraying down the structure to ensure it didn’t reignite, Spatz said.

The 3,486-square-foot building — originally a ranch-style home built in 1977 — is in a commercial district next to a Chevron gas station. It was being remodeled and was not occupied, Spatz said.

The Vancouver Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating what caused the fire.