Sumner residents recently received a notice announcing that Northstar Chemical Inc. has applied for a permit to demolish the 95-year-old Fleischmann’s Yeast Plant.

It’s separate from the original permit application, which included demolition and construction of a chemical tank farm on the property. The chemical farm project is about to undergo an environmental impact analysis, and city officials must now decide if the demolition also requires such a process.

Residents are being informed of the application because city code states that a completed application is the first public notice residents are sent.

The former yeast plant was built in 1912 and is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. It’s currently on the 2007 Most Endangered Historic Properties list put out by the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation.

City officials say the historic significance of the property will be considered when deciding what action to take with the demolition application.

Sumner resident Sara Hoime wants other concerned residents like herself to speak up. The demolition is one more step leading toward the construction of the chemical farm, and Hoime doesn’t want that to happen, she said.

Written comments will be accepted regarding the demolition application until Tuesday, Nov. 13, at 5 p.m. Mail them to: City of Sumner, Attn: Ryan Windish, 1104 Maple Street, Suite 250, Sumner, WA 98390.

A fire destroyed one house and damaged another Sunday night at Sumner Viewpoint, according to East Pierce Fire and Rescue Assistant Fire Chief Dave Wakefield.

Sumner Viewpoint is a housing development currently under construction in the south end of Sumner. No one was injured in the fire.

The president of the company building the project, Gary Meath of Benum Enterprises, said it was likely not an accident, but declined to give further details.

The damage is estimated at $150,000 to $250,000, Wakefield said. East Pierce Fire and Rescue is not ready to release any other information. The incident is under investigation by the Pierce County Fire Marshal.