Crews Extinguish Small Fire That Looked Like Big Trouble In Wenatchee

Crews from the Wenatchee Valley Fire Department (WVFD) were dispatched to reports of an explosion late Wednesday morning.

The call came in just before noon and sent firefighters to the GS Long building in the ten block of East 9th Street in Wenatchee.

WVFD Chief Brian Brett says the scene initially fooled fire crews into thinking the situation was much worse.

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"When we rounded the corner it looked like the building was on fire. As we were able to gain access to the area and see what was actually going on, we saw that it was a tent that was being used as housing with a large number of personal belongings that was on fire against the building."

Brett says when fire occurs against the walls of a structure, the flame columns can be up to four times higher than when in the open.

Crews quickly extinguished the flames after the owners of the tent and personal belongings tried unsuccessfully to put out the fire.

The fire caused very minor damage to the building's exterior walls but did not spread to inside the structure.

No injuries were reported and business at GS Long was only momentarily disrupted.

Brett says the tent and personal items belonged to transients and that fires started by transients in Wenatchee, whether accidental or intentional, are a growing concern.