Fire destroys building in downtown Soap Lake

SOAP LAKE - A fire destroyed a downtown Soap Lake building and damaged two others in September.

Firefighters were dispatched to Main Avenue East after receiving two reports of smoke coming from a building, stated Kyle Foreman, Grant County Emergency Management's public information officer.

"The occupant of an apartment in the rear of the burning building called 9-1-1 to report smoke coming from the front of the building," Foreman stated. "The fire was also reported by Soap Lake Police Chief Jim Dorris who saw the smoke while on routine patrol."

Soap Lake firefighters arrived at 7:30 a.m. to discover flames showing through the front windows and roof of the storefront, he stated. Firefighters from the Ephrata Fire Department and Grant County fire districts 7 and 13 also responded to the fire.

The fire destroyed the building, which housed a Christian-based youth outreach organization. Two attached buildings, one housing Sacred Road Tattoo and Piercing and the other used for antiques storage, suffered heat, smoke, water and fire damage, Foreman stated.

The fire was declared under control at 8:30 a.m.

No injuries were reported.

The fire did flare up again at about 10:30 a.m., as firefighters were moving debris, Foreman said. The firefighters were able to extinguish it without any further damage.

"Were it not for the teamwork, skills and efforts of local firefighters, the entire block might have been destroyed," he stated.

Grant County investigators are searching for the cause of the fire.