PRESS RELEASE

On Thursday, Jan. 6th, at 2:13pm, Kittitas County Fire District 7 firefighters were dispatched to 4244 Bullfrog Road in Cle Elum for a report of fire coming from the school district building across the street from Station 76. This occurred just hours after almost 30″ of snow fell across the area, severely slowing response times and available access for responders. Roslyn Fire Department was requested for mutual aid immediately due to their proximity.

The fire was quickly upgraded to a second alarm to call for additional resources from neighboring agencies. Due to the extreme amounts of snow, response was delayed from other agencies.

Crews arrived on scene to find fire and heavy smoke coming from the building. Crews attempted an aggressive offensive fire attack inside the building before discovering the fire was natural gas fueled. Shortly after backing out of the building the roof collapsed and crews moved into a defensive position, only fighting the fire from the exterior.

The fire was contained to the building of origin but it was a total loss.

No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.