[1]Firefighters prepare to put more water into the second story of a house on the 600 block of Northwest Folsom Street in Chehalis yesterday afternoon.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
One firefighter was hospitalized and another narrowly escaped a falling air conditioner unit during a fire in Chehalis yesterday that destroyed a two-story house.
Chehalis Fire Department Acting Capt. Pat Gilligan said this morning a volunteer from Lewis County Fire District 6 suffered heat exhaustion as five departments worked the blaze on Northwest Folsom Street.
Chehalis Fire Chief Kelvin Johnson said he could see the smoke as he left the station to answer the 2:10 p.m. call, and when he arrived, flames were shooting out the back of the wood-frame home.
It was vacant.
Investigators are returning today to figure out what sparked the blaze, according to Gilligan.
The 28-year-old volunteer was released from the hospital after spending about four hours there yesterday, District 6 Chief Bud Goodwillie said this morning.
He was among those spraying water on the adjoining structures to prevent them from catching fire, Gilligan said.
One one side, a garage housed a 1960 Corvette belonging to Chehalis Fire Capt. Casey Beck, who resides across the street. On the other side, the plastic clips melted from an air conditioning unit in a second-story window and it dropped to the ground, nearly striking Chehalis Assistant Chief Larry Allen, according to Gilligan.
The Chehalis Fire Department was joined by crews from Centralia, Rochester and Lewis County Fire districts 5 and 6, according to the chief.
Gilligan said the upstairs of the house was completely burned and the downstairs damaged by smoke and water. He said the $175,000 structure was likely a total loss.