Chickens OK after coop fire

No chickens were harmed in a chicken coop fire that broke out in a Spokane Valley shed Wednesday morning. “No casualties to the chickens,” said Spokane Valley Fire Department Assistant Fire Marshal Bill Clifford. “Not even a singed feather.”

There were three chickens inside the shed at 5309 E. Eighth Ave., Clifford said. Investigators believe the fire was started by a heat lamp.

The fire was one of 210 calls received by the department the week of Feb. 2-8. The calls included downed power lines, a chimney fire and an arson fire in a truck that was started by a Molotov cocktail, Clifford said. “It was thrown in the bed of the truck,” he said. “It was an older pickup truck.”

The fire was reported in the 4800 block of East Sprague Avenue at 4:12 a.m. on Feb. 6. The truck did not sustain any major damage. Anyone with information on the fire is asked to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.

Seven car accidents were reported during the week, but no one was injured seriously enough to be taken to the hospital. That included a woman who said her car was sideswiped by a semi on Interstate 90 near the Pines exit shortly after 6 p.m. on Feb. 6. The car went through a light pole and down an embankment into a drainage swale, Clifford said.

The department also responded to 181 EMS calls and helped free one child from a locked vehicle.