Apartment building burns down in Moses Lake
A firefighter battles a blaze which broke out in a small apartment building around 7 a.m. Wednesday at the corner of North Grape Drive and West Luta Street. It took firefighters from the Moses Lake Fire Department and Grant County Fire District 5 over three hours to extinguish the blaze, according to MLFD Chief Brett Bastian.
COURTESY PHOTO/MOSES LAKE FIRE DEPARTMENT
The remains of the fire-gutted, four-unit apartment building at the corner of North Grape Drive and West Luta Street. The fire left the residents of the building homeless, though first responders did put them in touch with local aid organizations.
MOSES LAKE — One person was injured and five were left homeless when an early morning fire gutted an apartment building at the corner of North Grape Drive and West Luta Street on Wednesday, according to Moses Lake Fire Chief Brett Bastian.
“It’s damaged pretty much beyond repair,” Bastian said of the apartment building. “The four apartments are not livable.”
Bastian said firefighters from the Moses Lake Fire Department and Grant County Fire District 5 responded shortly after 7 a.m. to the fire. It is believed the fire started in a stove in one of the small apartment building’s four units but spread quickly into the attic and throughout the entire building.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze at around 10:30 a.m., the chief added.
“We still have it under investigation,” Bastian said.
Bastian said one resident was treated for smoke inhalation and transported to Samaritan Hospital for evaluation.
However, the residents of the four apartments no longer have a place to live, Bastian said. The MLFD contacted both HopeSource and the Red Cross to help residents displaced by the fire, according to the MLFD’s Facebook page.
Charles H. Featherstone can be reached at cfeatherstone@columbiabasinherald.com.
