A firefighter with Hermistion Fire and Emergency Services drags a hose line Sunday afternoon in front of a fully-engulfed shed behind a residnece at 80919 Cooney Lane. Tammy Malgesini/The Hermiston Herald

A Sunday afternoon blaze demolished a shop behind the home of Sandy and R.J. Francis at 80919 Cooney Lane.

Although no one was injured, Kasey Pankey, 17, was inside the house sleeping when alerted of the fire.

“My neighbors came over and woke me up,” Pankey said.

He immediately went to the breaker box and turned off the power and then got his dog and went outside.

“It was just the shop,” he said.

Even though firefighters contained the blaze to one structure, Pankey said his stepfather’s bovine artificial insemination business was in the there, along with his mother’s family pictures.

“All the semen he stores was in there,” Pankey said. “There was nothing you could pull out. A car got destroyed.”

Capt. Jeff Adkins with Hermiston Fire and Emergency Services said nine vehicles and 18 firefighters, including mutual aid from Stanfield and Umatilla, assisted with the blaze.

“When we got there it was pretty much fully involved,” Adkins said. “It was already venting from the door, roof and windows – so that’s pretty involved.”

Adkins said the burning structure was merely feet away from the residence.

“They did a good job getting the hose lines between the garage and house and saving the house,” Adkins said.

A large plume of dark black smoke had neighbors gathering along the road and watching from nearby fields.

“I saw it before the fire trucks got here,” said Ilene Curtis, a resident of Cooney Lane.

Donn Walls, who also lives on Cooney Lane, was alerted of the fire when a a friend from the Hermiston Police Department called.

“He said, ‘You’ve got quite a fire out there.’ And I said, ‘We do?’ “

Walls then went outside and looked to the north and didn’t see anything. However, when he turned the other way, he immediately saw the smoke and fire.

“It’s sad when people lose property,” Walls said.

Loud blasts also were heard shortly after the fire started.

“I heard some bangs,” Walls said. “I don’t know if it was guns or ammunition or propane tanks.”

Adkins said there were a few propane tanks. He added tires also can explode in fires.

The cause of the fire still was under investigation Monday. Fire Marshal Tom Bohm, who was unavailable for comment, was at the scene, both Sunday afternoon and Monday before press time.