Stovetop fire displaces four Kennewick families

KENNEWICK, Wash.-- What started out as an oil fire on the stove of one unit at a four-plex in Kennewick turned into a major structure fire Tuesday evening.

The Kennewick Fire Department was dispatched to the 1100 block of N. Cleveland St., just off Canal, at about 4:35 p.m. Tuesday where they found smoke and flames coming from a downstairs unit.

One of the residents told investigators that he was heating up oil in a pan, left the room for a moment, and found the pan on fire when he returned to the kitchen. He tried putting a lid on the pan, but it splashed oil onto the stove and the fire quickly spread to the rest of the kitchen.

The fire spread out the back of the unit, and made its way up toward the upstairs unit.

Four families are displaced by the fire, and were assisted by chaplains from the Kennewick Fire Department.

The man who lived in the apartment where the fire started suffered some minor burns and smoke inhalation and was treated at the scene. No firefighters were hurt.

Crews and apparatus from Benton County Fire District 1, Pasco Fire Department, and Richland Fire Department responded to assist the Kennewick Fire Department with the blaze.