Fire near Ephrata was caused by unattended space heater
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 years AGO
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | March 11, 2021 1:00 AM
EPHRATA — A fire that destroyed a pair of travel trailers near Ephrata March 4 has been ruled accidental.
Grant County Deputy Fire Marshal Brock Laughlin said the fire, at 10707 NW Road E.6, was caused by an unattended space heater left too close to combustible material. The occupant, a Hispanic man, was not home at the time of the fire, Laughlin said. Laughlin declined to release the resident’s name.
The property is owned by Angel Enciso Guzman and Blanca Sabalza Costellon.
The fire was reported by neighbors living in the house next door, which was not damaged.
Grant County Fire District 13 crews responded to the fire, assisted by the Ephrata Fire Department and an AMR ambulance crew. The fire destroyed a vehicle next to the trailers and threatened others, but fire crews kept it from spreading.
“We don’t recommend space heaters, ever. They are the cause of many fires,” Laughlin said.
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