Firefighters returned to the scene of a house fire north of Ridgefield around midnight Wednesday and into the early hours of Thursday because the blaze had reignited.
Clark County Fire & Rescue firefighters were redeployed to the 29900 block of Northwest 71st Avenue at 12:13 a.m., according to dispatch logs.
It’s unclear who called 911 about the second fire at the old home, but the response was once again delayed due to its seclusion and a lack of nearby fire hydrants, said fire department spokesman Tim Dawdy.
Firefighters likely took a more conservative approach to battling the late-night fire. The house, once a general store that sat at the Pekin Ferry site on the Lewis River, was unstable and unsafe. The upper floor was severely damaged during the first fire Wednesday afternoon, Dawdy said.
That initial response occurred around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. The occupants, an older couple, were inside the home when firefighters arrived; they tried to curtail the spread of the fire themselves, something officials don’t recommend, and had to be pulled outside by a division chief.
It took about 40 minutes to stop the fire, which remained mostly confined to the home’s upper floor.
Still, Dawdy said he believes the damage done that afternoon would prevent the couple from ever living in the home again.
“It was an ancient home with a lot of clutter. It wasn’t up to code,” Dawdy said. “By 5 (Wednesday evening), they’d lost their home. I feel awful for them.”
Fire officials returned to the home about 7 p.m. Wednesday. They went through the house with thermal energy cameras checking for heat. There were no hot spots, Dawdy said.
Five hours later, the firefighters were back to bring the reignited fire under control.
Deputy Clark County Fire Marshal Dan Young said there was likely enough undetected heat left in the fire that overnight wind caused the fire to resurge.
An electrical problem sparked the original fire, Young said. It started in an interior wall behind a television, then worked its way into the attic, and, he said, “pretty much took the top off.”
The home is a total loss, he said, adding total damages would probably end up being about $140,000.
Young said the home did not have working smoke detectors, and he reminded other residents to check theirs or install them.
The Red Cross Cascades Region said it responded to assist three people who were affected by the fire.
