Spokane Valley fire burns two businesses

A motorcycle shop and restaurant were damaged in an early morning fire today in Spokane Valley. Firefighters responded shortly before 4 a.m. to 17927 E. Appleway Ave., the location of Hell Yeah Cycles and the Handle Bar restaurant, said Pat Schaffer, a captain with Spokane Valley Fire Department. The building had been remodeled several times and included a vertical log structure inside, he said. “We pulled the drywall and found that. There are so many void spaces in a building like that,” Schaffer said. “We had to cut a lot of holes to get at it. We were on offensive for over an hour, which is very unusual. We were really chasing it.” Some 30 firefighters responded to the fire. Schaffer said firefighters also pulled out half a dozen motorcycles, a couple of them in various stages of being rebuilt. The owner of one bike came by to check on it, he said. “He said, ‘This is my sister’s, and she passed away,’” Schaffer said. That bike had some smoke and heat damage but was generally intact. Due in part to the complicated structure of the building, the fire took almost two hours to get under control, Schaffer said. The businesses have only been open about seven weeks and the co-owners showed up at the fire. “It’s kind of a sad story,” Schaffer said. “They really did a lot of work on that building. They do have insurance though, so that’s good.” Investigators are still working to determine the fire’s origin and cause and to estimate the damage, Schaffer said. No one was injured.