Fire ravages duplex; arson not suspected

CHENEY – Firefighters aren’t sure what caused a fire Friday night that destroyed a duplex here, but they don’t believe it was arson or other suspicious circumstances.

“It just had a heck of a head start on us,” said Capt. Michael Ault of the Cheney Fire Department this morning. “There wasn’t anything to save. That house was really destroyed.”

Firefighters were called to the duplex on Second Street at about 10:45 p.m. Friday, and found smoke and flames shooting through the roof. About a dozen firefighters quickly knocked down the blaze, which burned two floors, a basement and a backyard shed.

Only Steven Nation, who said he owns the duplex, was home at the time. The renters were out of town, he said.

He said that he was about to go to bed Friday when he looked out the window.

“I thought, ‘Wow, it’s snowing!’ ” he said.

But when he went outside to take a peek, he realized what he saw were sparks and ashes. He grabbed his dog, Sadie, and a cordless phone, and ran outside. From there, he called 911.

Fire Chief Mike Winters said the blaze was a “worst-case-scenario type of thing” because it started at night, when fewer people are outside who might see flames earlier.

Nation has insurance, but he had some collectibles in the house he probably lost. However, Ault said the renters in the duplex’s other unit didn’t have renters insurance – something he considers an inexpensive way to protect against the kind of losses that occur in fires.

He said students and other renters should consider having insurance, especially since most of them have thousands of dollars in computer and technological equipment.