Small fire prompts Redmond Airport terminal evacuation

A small fire at a restaurant in the Redmond Municipal Airport terminal, put out by staff with a fire extinguisher, prompted evacuation of the facility early Thursday morning and caused about $16,000 in damage, officials said.

Redmond Fire & Rescue responded around 5:50 a.m. to the reported fire at Roberts Field, said Fire Marshal Traci Cooper.

Airport personnel told arriving fire crews that the building had been evacuated and that airport staff and Redmond police found a small fire in the Avalon Aeropub, a restaurant located on the second floor, past the TSA security checkpoint.

Cooper said quick action by the airport operations staff with an extinguisher put out the fire before fire crews arrived. Firefighters confirmed the fire was out and worked with airport officials to cancel the alarm and clear smoke from the building.

Once the building was cleared of smoke, passengers were allowed to return and proceed through security, she said.

Firefighters found what appeared to be combustible materials that had dropped down between a dishwasher and the wall and ignited.

There were no reported injuries in the incident, Cooper said.