By Donald W. Meyers
Yakima Herald-Republic
YAKIMA COUNTY, Wash. — A fire at a hop warehouse that caused millions of dollars in damage and prompted a shelter-in-place order was sparked by spontaneous combustion.
Firefighters from Yakima County Fire District 5 went to the Obert Cold Storage warehouse, 131 Bella Terra Road, for a structure fire around 6 p.m. Monday. The first crews found smoke pushing out the closed doors of a cold-storage room, a fire district news release said, where employees said 3,700 200-pound bales were stored.
The workers smelled burning in the building and were looking for the source of the problem when the fire flared, the release said. Hop bales can spontaneously catch fire as acids in the cones cause a chemical reaction that generates heat.
The fire started burning through the roof as firefighters were assessing the situation. Firefighters decided to contain the fire to the cold room and protect the rest of the warehouse, the release said.
A commercial refrigeration company was able to recover the anhydrous ammonia and isolate the refrigeration system before Pacific Power cut power to the building, the release said.
Yakima Valley Emergency Management issued a shelter-in-place order for residents living within a mile of the warehouse due to the ammonia refrigerant. The order was lifted Tuesday morning.
The Lower Valley district was assisted by firefighters from Toppenish, Gleed, West Valley, Yakima, East Valley and Sunnyside.
Firefighters said any remaining ammonia in the system burned off in the fire.
Crews were able to keep the fire contained to the cold room, the release said and turned the scene over to employees of S.S. Steiner Inc. to complete extinguishing the hop bales.
Fire officials estimate the cost of the damage at $6.8 million.
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