Fire guts commercial building in Moses Lake

MOSES LAKE — Fire gutted a building at the intersection of West Broadway Avenue and Fir Street in Moses Lake Saturday night.

The businesses ShirtBuilders, Edward Jones and First National Home Loans, were located together in the building.

“There was significant damage,” said Moses Lake Fire Department Capt. Dick Penrose.

Twelve Moses Lake Fire Department firefighters and roughly nine from Grant County Fire District 5 joined forces to fight the fire for nearly six and a half hours, according to Penrose.

The initial call to 9-1-1 came at 11:22 p.m. Saturday night. Two fire engines, a ladder truck, salvage truck, supply truck and several smaller miscellaneous vehicles from the Moses Lake Fire Department arrived to find smoke coming from the building.

The were joined by three emergency vehicles from Grant County Fire District 5.

The smoke grew to flames reaching through the roof as the two agencies poured water into the building from six different angles.

Penrose said the building once had a flat tar-roof before a pitched roof was added. The original tar-roof remained in place blocking firefighters from the fire burning between the roofs.

“The tar added significantly to the fuel-load of that building,” Penrose said. “The fire was in a concealed space and we couldn’t get the water to the fire … it kept growing, and growing and growing … It makes it pretty hard to put out … That was what gave us the biggest headaches, was that (the fire) was in a concealed space.”

Weather and debris complicated efforts. The temperature during the fire was 30 degrees with a slight wind, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“We had trouble with the (run off water) flow and a lot of debris … The debris was plugging the storm drains,” Penrose said.

The water was steaming in the cold night weather and covered some sidewalks a couple of blocks away on Broadway.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze at roughly 5 a.m. and a fire watch was established to keep a hose ready and monitor the remains of the building in case of flare ups.

“As far as the cause of the fire, we know nothing,” said Penrose. “We will begin the investigation (today).”

Moses Lake Fire Department is investigating the cause and will be utilizing assistance from other agencies, according to Penrose.

“We don’t get large fires like that very often,” Penrose added. “The good thing was nobody got hurt.”

More photos here.