Mattawa man dies in trailer fire
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 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 14, 2023 5:34 PM
MATTAWA — A Mattawa man died when the travel trailer he was living in caught fire late Saturday night.
Juan Castaneda, 39, was pronounced dead at the scene of the fire in the 21000 block of Road 24.7 SW, according to a press release from the Grant County Sheriff’s Office. The fire was reported at about 10:30 p.m.
“It looks like he was cooking something on the stove,” wrote Grant County Fire District 8 Chief Matt Hyndman in answer to an email from the Herald. “The gas burner was left on and there was a pot on the burner.”
Firefighters found Castaneda inside the trailer.
“Once the initial attack on the fire was made a crew did a search of the residence and found the patient and brought him out,” Hyndman wrote. “Our EMS personnel started CPR and some of my firefighters took their gear off and jumped in and helped.”
Castaneda, however, died of his injuries.
Hyndman said 11 firefighters responded to the call and were on the scene for about five hours.
“The fire was out pretty quick,” Hyndman wrote. “We stuck around and waited for the coroner to arrive and assisted him.”
Staff members at the Grant County Coroner’s Office are conducting an autopsy, the GCSO press release said.
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