BRIEF: Selah home destroyed by fire; cats killed

Nov. 18--SELAH, Wash. -- A fire destroyed a home in the 600 block of South First Street Tuesday night and killed six cats, firefighters say.

The resident of the rental home was Diane Koch, administrative assistant for Yakima County Emergency Medical Services. The agency is responsible for training and certifying emergency medical technicians and paramedics in the county.

Koch, who has worked for the agency since 1989, processes that paperwork for the dozens of firefighters and other EMT personnel in the county, said agency director Tony Miller.

A gofundme account has been set up to help Koch recover from the costs of the fire. Miller said some of the firefighter associations in the county have also started discussing how to help her.

The fire may have been related to a heat source in the home, but investigators are waiting for an insurance company to help complete the investigation, said Deputy Chief Jim Lange of the Selah Fire Department.

One firefighter from the Yakima Training Center suffered an arm injury while stretching hose, Lange said. He was treated at a local hospital and released.

No damage total was available.

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