Around 10 a.m. last Thursday, White Salmon resident Dola Ellis heard a noise outside of her home at 176 NE Hood St. She peered through the window at the house next door and was shocked by what she saw.
"There were two garbage cans on fire," she reported. "They were starting to melt."
Ellis immediately alerted her husband, Dan, who called the authorities.
Officer Jim Andring of the Bingen-White Salmon Police Department was the first to arrive at the fire, which was burning outside of a house at 156 NE Hood St. The home is located a stone's throw from the front entrance to Whitson Elementary.
Andring said that by the time he had arrived, flames had climbed all the way up the outside of the two-story building. He pulled out a fire extinguisher from his police cruiser and went over to the side of the house to try and put out the blaze.
Andring was able to keep the flames under control until the White Salmon Fire Department arrived. Firefighters sprayed water on the side of the smoldering house and the gooey, flattened mess of what used to be two plastic garbage cans. They then hacked away at the building with axes, crowbars, shovels, and a chain saw to root out and extinguish any spots that were still burning underneath the siding.
Firefighters initially thought that the blaze was caused by hot ashes being dumped into the garbage cans. Inspection of the plastic pile revealed what appeared to be the remnants of stereo speakers, paint cans, and other debris. There was speculation that the paint cans exploded, which may have been the sound heard at the Ellis residence.
Upon obtaining a key from the landlord and entering the dwelling, firefighters did indeed find a fireplace, but discovered that it had not had its ashes cleaned out. They rejected their original theory and said that the cause of the fire was a mystery.
The house is owned by Chris Iobst, who is currently renting it to Nick Bachman. No one was home at the time of the fire, although there was a dog inside the residence. Firefighters reported that although it was smoky, there was no damage to the inside of the home.
After the last embers were snuffed out, firefighters told Iobst that though he has some repair work to do on the house, he's pretty lucky.
"You were really close to losing it," said one firefighter, indicating the house.
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