Fort Vancouver High School fire burns baseball field booth

Firefighters extinguished a blaze Wednesday afternoon in a Fort Vancouver High School baseball announcer’s booth.

The two-story structure is behind the main school building. Crews with the Vancouver Fire Department responded at 1:37 p.m. to the school at 5700 E. 18th St. for a report of an outside fire.

Wind was reportedly driving the fire, and a second fire engine was promptly requested, according to emergency radio traffic monitored at The Columbian. A firefighter told dispatchers he could not enter the burning structure and would attack the flames from in front of a door, according to the scanner.

A total of 11 firefighters responded to the scene, Vancouver firefighter-paramedic Kevin Stromberg said. The fire was extinguished in about 15 minutes

“They found that it was fully involved,” Stromberg said. “Unfortunately, it did suffer severe damage.”

The school day was nearing its end, and firefighters relayed that they were worried about students getting too close to the action, according to the scanner.

Responders were positioned to keep them at a safe distance.

The Vancouver Fire Marshal’s Office and Vancouver Police Department responded to the school to investigate.