Toppenish Fire Destroys Second-Hand Clothing Store
TOPPENISH -- Flames so high they created a glow that could be seen across the Lower Yakima Valley. The fire destroyed a Toppenish clothing business. But KIMA discovered firefighters were able to perform what would appear to be the impossible.
"My brother and I jumped into the car and drove up here and we could actually see the flames on the highway," said Raleigh Heitzman.
Flames and smoke. Once the fire got started, it quickly consumed this second hand clothing store.
"We had a thermo-imaging camera, and when they looked inside and we could tell it was coming from the back area," said Captain Mark Oakes, with Yakima County Fire District #5.
And it didn't take long to see the business would lose everything. More than $300,000 in clothing and other items - gone. Another $700,000 for the building itself.
Most of the damage was contained to just the one business, but there are businesses on both ends of the complex, and firefighters did there best to make sure there was as little damage as possible.
Raleigh said, "We're lucky. We were very fortunate all we had was a little bit of smoke smell."
Heitzman showed up when the fire started. And it's a good thing he did. He was able to open the door to his insurance business for firefighters, so they didn't have to break it in, like all the others.
Angel Garcia wasn't so lucky. In fact, he just moved his photography business to this strip mall and hadn't even officially opened yet. He also didn't have time to get his insurance lined up. Which means he's paying for the damages himself.
"It's going to set me back a month, maybe," said Angel.
Still, he didn't lose any photographs or equipment, one of the lucky one on this night. Farmers Insurance on the other end of the building will also have to be cleaned up. The inside is a mess, but no fire or water damage to be seen. Both insurance companies say they have paperwork on file that could have been destroyed. And this fire has them re-thinking how they store those important signatures.
Heitzman Insurance says it will re-open Wednesday. Farmers Insurance has more work to do, but says if customers need help they can go to the Sunnyside or Union Gap offices. As for the cause of that massive fire, it's still under investigation.
"My brother and I jumped into the car and drove up here and we could actually see the flames on the highway," said Raleigh Heitzman.
Flames and smoke. Once the fire got started, it quickly consumed this second hand clothing store.
"We had a thermo-imaging camera, and when they looked inside and we could tell it was coming from the back area," said Captain Mark Oakes, with Yakima County Fire District #5.
And it didn't take long to see the business would lose everything. More than $300,000 in clothing and other items - gone. Another $700,000 for the building itself.
Most of the damage was contained to just the one business, but there are businesses on both ends of the complex, and firefighters did there best to make sure there was as little damage as possible.
Raleigh said, "We're lucky. We were very fortunate all we had was a little bit of smoke smell."
Heitzman showed up when the fire started. And it's a good thing he did. He was able to open the door to his insurance business for firefighters, so they didn't have to break it in, like all the others.
Angel Garcia wasn't so lucky. In fact, he just moved his photography business to this strip mall and hadn't even officially opened yet. He also didn't have time to get his insurance lined up. Which means he's paying for the damages himself.
"It's going to set me back a month, maybe," said Angel.
Still, he didn't lose any photographs or equipment, one of the lucky one on this night. Farmers Insurance on the other end of the building will also have to be cleaned up. The inside is a mess, but no fire or water damage to be seen. Both insurance companies say they have paperwork on file that could have been destroyed. And this fire has them re-thinking how they store those important signatures.
Heitzman Insurance says it will re-open Wednesday. Farmers Insurance has more work to do, but says if customers need help they can go to the Sunnyside or Union Gap offices. As for the cause of that massive fire, it's still under investigation.
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