Fireworks possible cause of multiple blazes in region

A man is staying with family in the area after an Independence Day fire that might be linked to fireworks damaging his Pomeroy home.

That blaze was one of three residential fires in the region since late Wednesday night being investigated for ties to fireworks.

People who live at a residence at 411 N. Almon St. in Moscow are being assisted by the Red Cross following a fire at their home that was reported at 11:51 p.m. Wednesday.

A home on Poplar Street in Clarkston where no one lived was reduced to rubble Thursday.

The fire at 1141 Arlington St. in Pomeroy was reported at 11:50 p.m. and started in a wooden shingle roof at a time when fireworks are allowed, said Garfield County Fire District Chief James Cleveland.

An older man in the residence, the only person in the home, was in a bedroom about 30 feet from where the fire started, Cleveland said.

Bystanders opened the door to the home, alerted the man and were helping him walk out of the home as firefighters arrived, he said.

“We’re leaning toward fireworks being the cause,” Cleveland said.

A crew of one dozen firefighters, including personnel from the city of Asotin, contained the fire in the attic, but there was significant water damage to the living level of the home, he said.

In Moscow, an adult and two children attempted to extinguish a fire at their home, which like the one in Pomeroy, is not fit for human habitation at this time, according to a news release from the Moscow Fire Department.

Flames and smoke were showing at the front and underneath the Moscow residence when firefighters arrived, according to the news release.

An initial investigation found the possibility of discarded, discharged fireworks in a trash can near the residence, according to the news release that states the fire remains under investigation.

In Clarkston, the home at 1327 Poplar St. was filled with belongings of the property owner, a woman who lives in the area, said Asotin County Fire District Chief Noel Hardin on Friday.

The fire that was reported just before 9:30 p.m. Thursday was one of nine fireworks incidents that Hardin’s crews responded to between 7 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. on the holiday. The city of Clarkston handled six grass fires in a similar window.

Medics were also dispatched to a man who had been hit in the face with a mortar-type firework near Lincoln Middle School where hundreds gather to ignite fireworks they’ve purchased, Hardin said.

The man was taken to the hospital with facial injuries, according to a Facebook post of the Asotin County Fire District.

The two-story home on Poplar Street with a basement on about 1 acre was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived just a couple minutes after the blaze was reported, Hardin said.

The firefighters were able to reach the scene quickly because they were making rounds in neighborhoods, something that’s a standard precaution on Independence Day, he said.

“(The fire) was spreading to the east and to the west,” Hardin said. “The house was a loss. Our goal was to keep it from spreading to nearby homes.”

As many as 20 firefighters from Clarkston, Asotin and Lewiston battled the blaze until 2 a.m. and a smaller crew remained on the scene throughout the night putting water on items in the basement that continued to burn, he said.

A vinyl fence melted between the burning house and duplex immediately to the east. A fire truck was stationed in the driveway of a home to the west to prevent flames from reaching that residence.

The fire burned so intensely that most of the items in the home were destroyed beyond recognition.

It wasn’t until a backhoe arrived at the scene today that firefighters were able to remove everything in the basement and completely extinguish the fire, Hardin said.

A bulldozer the Washington Department of Natural Resources keeps at the Asotin County station was used to dig a perimeter around the property too.

Besides the fireworks injury and the house fire on Poplar Street, Asotin County crews handled seven grass fires the evening of Independence Day and early Friday morning, Hardin said.

The largest of the grass fires was about 1 acre, he said.

During that time, the Pomeroy house caught fire and the city of Asotin sent a crew to help.

“Valley-wide we were stretched to the limit last night,” Hardin said.

The Lewis-Clark Valley firefighters did “an incredible job to minimize damage” and “it’s unfortunate the 4th of July Celebrations can wreak so much havoc on a community,” Hardin said in the Facebook post.

“It’s something we may have to address with the Asotin County commissioners in the near future,” Hardin said.

In Asotin County, fireworks purchased in Washington State municipalities are legal to be ignited until midnight July 4 and until 11 p.m. July 3 and July 5, he said. They’re also permitted at certain times on New Year’s Eve.

In the city of Clarkston, July 4 is the only day of the year fireworks are legal, Hardin said.

Some of the fireworks allowed in Washington State are more potent than those permitted in neighboring Lewiston, he said.

There were 27 reports of fireworks in Lewiston and three vehicle/grass fires, according to the police log from the Lewiston Police Department.

Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261. Kaylee Brewster contributed to this story.