Fire crews saw flames that stretched more than 40 feet in the air and heard explosions while battling a shop fire Wednesday afternoon northwest of Battle Ground.
Clark County Fire & Rescue crews were called to the barn, at the intersection of Northeast 82nd Avenue and Northeast 289th Street, about 1:20 p.m. Wednesday.
Firefighters arrived and saw fire coming through the roof of the roughly 80-by 60-foot barn and called for a second alarm, sending more resources to the blaze, Clark County Fire & Rescue spokesman Tim Dawdy said.
Crews attacked the fire from the outside, Dawdy said. As they fought the blaze, a dump truck and propane and fuel tanks inside the barn caused explosions.
Janette Chumley said her nephew was welding in the shop.
“He was welding on one of our trucks and a spark went into some waste oil,” she said.
The shop houses tools and equipment for her family’s excavation business, she said.
Chumley said there’s also a sawmill, so the pole barn building stored a load of hardwood slabs placed inside to dry.
Her nephew escaped unharmed, she said. “As soon as he saw the smoke he got out.”
Crews brought the blaze under control in about 20 minutes and saved the surrounding buildings, Dawdy said. The barn, however, was a total loss.
“It’s gone. The whole thing is gone,” Chumley said later that afternoon. The family was still piecing together what their next steps would be, she added.
Crews from Clark County Fire District 10, Clark County Fire District 3 and Vancouver Fire Department assisted at the scene. The Clark County Fire Marshal’s Office was investigating the fire.
Firefighters stayed on the scene for a few hours.
