Fire Forces City Offices To Move To High School

Fri., June 30, 2000

From Staff Reports

Colfax City Hall and Police Department offices were moved temporarily to Colfax High School on Thursday, as cleanup continued at the scene of a fire that burned the city’s fire station.

A truck bay in the fire station, which adjoins City Hall and police headquarters, burned early Wednesday and suffered more than $1 million in damage.

The fire was started by a faulty extension cord, and firefighters struggled to extinguish it because their gear, engines and equipment were inside.

The city offices will remain at the high school until cleanup is complete in an estimated two weeks to a month.

The offices will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the drop box at City Hall on Mill Street will continue to be operable. While direct phone lines are being installed, the high school will transfer calls to the city at (509) 397-3861. Patrons are being asked to restrict calls as much as possible until the direct lines have been installed.

City Hall will be closed July 4 and the phones will not be answered July 3, because the school district is closed. City offices will be open Monday, however. The Police Department business telephone line will be redirected to Whitcom and then transferred back to the police office at the high school. All emergency calls should go to 911. The Fire Department is operational due to the loan of ambulances and fire equipment from Steptoe, Ephrata and Albion.

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