Police and fire responded to reports of a high-level structure fire at a DRA rental unit on Northeast Valley Road this morning.

The Pullman Police arrived to the scene first and confirmed smoke and flames, said Assistant Fire Chief Ryan Scharnhorst.

Fire crews already out on the road responded quickly, he said. 

“They said they were going to be offensive, they were going to attack the fire,” Scharnhorst said. “Luckily it was a very good stop by the crews – they held it to the room it was in.”

The fire appears to have started in a utility closet near the furnace, although the official cause of the fire is unknown, he said.

While the occupant was not in the unit at the time of the fire, the occupant’s dog was. The dog was let out of the house by fire crews.

The neighbors in the unit below the fire were evacuated, Scharnhorst said.

Officials shut off power and gas to the unit and the unit below it until the police and fire departments can determine the cause of the fire. The investigation is ongoing.