Fire damages home; Chenowith elementary evacuated due to smoke

Mid-Columbia Fire & Rescue, along with district maintenance staff, responded and found an issue with the heater in Room 17, which caused the smoke.

The classroom has radiant heat, and maintenance staff will ensure adequate and safe heat in the room until repairs can be made, a press release from the school district stated.

“Students and staff did an excellent job of evacuating the building and were very patient until the building was deemed safe for their return,” the release said.

At the same times crews were responding to a fire on West 11th Street and Dallesport Fire Department was dispatched to assist in The Dalles.

A home in the 400 block of W. 11th St. was badly damaged by heat and smoke around noon on Friday.

No one was home at the time of the fire, but two cats were in the house and one perished, said Jay Wood, division chief with Mid-Columbia Fire & Rescue. The other cat escaped the home unharmed.

The main floor was heavily damaged by heat and smoke, and the basement was slightly damaged by water, Wood said.

The home was rented by a couple with a young child who did not have renters’ insurance.

“There will be some salvage, but they have lost most everything,”  Wood said.

The family was temporarily relocated to The Dalles Inn.

The water damage was to items in the basement that belonged to the homeowner.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.