Stevenson Picnic Pavilion ignites after fire reportedly escaped fireplace

From City of Stevenson Fire Department:

STEVENSON, WA - At 9:36 p.m. on Sunday, May 1st , firefighters from Stevenson Fire Department and Skamania County Fire District 1 were dispatched to a reported structure fire at 710 SW Rock Creek Drive near the playground.

The reporting party called 911 to report that a fire had escaped the fireplace in the picnic pavilion at Rock Creek Park and caught the structure on fire.

First arriving units reported smoke coming from the structure and encountered a group of local musicians removing their equipment from the pavilion. Firefighters used forcible entry tools to gain access to the interior of the building where they found fire in the wall and void spaces between the fireplace and the women’s restroom.

Due to the construction type, firefighters utilized the use of power saws to cut through multiple layers of wall to expose the burning areas of the building. The fire and firefighting activities caused moderate damage to the structure. Firefighters cleared the scene at 11:35 p.m.