Dramatic overnight fire destroys Richland home. Tri-Cities man escapes unharmed

A man living at a south Richland home escaped a dramatic fire with the help of smoke alarms early Tuesday morning.

He was sleeping inside the house at 937 View Drive when a fire started in the garage about 3:15 a.m., said Jenna Roberts, the Benton County Fire District 1 public information officer.

The home is along the Yakima River south of the Chamna Natural Preserve.

The fire and smoke triggered smoke alarms inside the home, waking the man up and giving him a chance to escape and call 911, Benton County Fire District 1 said in a Facebook post. He wasn’t hurt.

When firefighters arrived, the garage was fully engulfed and the fire had spread inside to the home.

Benton County Fire District 1 was joined by firefighters from Richland and Kennewick fire departments and Benton County Fire District 4.

The fire destroyed the entire home and as many as six vehicles. Firefighters were able to stop the fire from spreading to nearby homes.

Firefighters spent hours on the scene. They had left about 10 a.m. when the fire rekindled about 10:40 a.m. and a fire truck returned to put out the new fire.

Benton County sheriff’s deputies are determining the cause.

Nothing indicates that the fire was suspicious at this point, Roberts said.