A fire destroyed a house today near the corner of Barbee and Wilbourn Roads in Pullman.

No one was home at the time of the fire, however Whitman County Rural Fire District 12 Fire Chief Lester Erwin said two dogs were inside at the time of the fire and are presumed dead.

The call came in about 4 p.m., after someone spotted the fire.

“We had one report from a tractor driver that said he saw flames coming out of the roof,” Erwin said. “Then we had a couple other neighbors stop by before we got here.”

Erwin said when his team arrived the family’s home and garage were both on fire.

“We went to a defensive mode, protected structures to the south,” Erwin said. “Shooting it, trying to cool it down and keep the flames controlled so we didn’t have spread because of the dryness of the weather.”

Three different fire departments arrived on scene, including Fire District 12, Colton-Uniontown and City of Pullman.

The cause of the fire is still unknown, Erwin said. Pullman’s fire investigator will lead the investigation into the cause of the fire.

Reporting by Rachel Sun