Storage unit near Pullman catches fire

Hundreds of thousands of dollars of valuables were lost when a large storage unit along the Moscow-Pullman Highway caught fire Thursday.

The blaze at Express Storage - Pullman was called in around noon Thursday, and volunteer firefighters with Whitman County Fire District 12 out of Pullman responded. Lester Erwin, District 12 fire chief, said other departments came to help extinguish the fire, including volunteers from District 4 out of Palouse, District 14 from Colton-Uniontown and Moscow.

Erwin said each storage unit was individually coded with different locks. Firefighters had to cut doors and walls with saws to enter the building.

He said the storage unit is made out of tin, which insulated the fire. The flames were contained inside the building, which made fighting the fire difficult. The flames climbed above the walls and into neighboring units. Erwin said all but three or four storage units were scorched.

The large storage facility contained a motorhome, boats, cars, antique cars and ovens from Washington State University Food Service that were lost, Erwin said.

He said one of the units contained guns and ammunition that exploded because of the heat. The blaze was so hot that it blistered the tin on the sides of the building, he added.

No one was hurt during the fire, he said, and no one suffered from smoke inhalation.

Firefighters worked to extinguish hot spots in the building hours after first responding. Bill Tensfeld, director of Whitman County Emergency Management, said most of the blaze had been put out but some spots hidden throughout the facility were still smoldering.

He said volunteers combed through storage units into the evening, smothering the hot spots. He added officials would be watching the site throughout the night to make sure the fire stays extinguished.

Whitman County Fire District 12 is still investigating what caused the blaze.

Pearce can be reached at epearce@dnews.com or on Twitter @Emily_A_Pearce.