Structure Fire Damages Two Homes Thursday Afternoon in Wenatchee

A 3rd-alarm fire heavily damaged two homes Thursday afternoon on the 1100 block of Kittitas Street in Wenatchee.

Chelan County Fire District 1 Battalion Chief Peter Rigelman said crews from across the region responded to the scene around 4:30 pm.

"The first arriving unit had two structures on fire. They were pretty well involved on the backside of the houses. It was an uphill battle from there with the heat." explained Rigelman, "We had some access issues, on the backside through the alley, with getting water."

The sole occupant of one of the buildings, Lev Kevtnoy said his dog first alerted him to the danger. After seeing flames all around his front door, Kevtnoy grabbed his loyal pet and escaped the fire, burning his hands in the process. Two firefighters were taken to the hospital for heat-related issues and there were no other injuries.

The roof of one of the homes partially collapsed in the blaze.

Kevtnoy believes the fire was the result of a malfunction in his neighbor's air conditioning system. The official cause of the blaze has not been released by investigators.