Valley Fire roundup: Smoke detector sounded for apartment fire
A smoke detector likely helped keep an apartment complex fire from spreading when it woke a neighboring resident in the early morning hours of April 13.
A second-floor tenant at 15407 E. Broadway Ave. was awoken by the sound of a smoke detector sounding in a first-floor apartment. He called 911 when he smelled smoke, said Melanie Rose, Spokane Valley Fire Department spokeswoman.
The renter in the first-floor apartment wasn’t home at the time, Rose said. Crews were able to keep the flames confined to that apartment, which was destroyed. Damages are estimated at $53,000.
The cause of the fire was traced to a malfunctioning power strip, Rose said.
Other calls
from April 4-17
April 7: Two residents were locked in a bedroom by a malfunctioning door knob in the 200 block of South Neyland Avenue. The front door was unlocked, and firefighters were able to get inside and dismantle the doorknob, freeing the residents. While responding to the call, firefighters smelled natural gas and called Avista.
April 9: A driver fell asleep, drove off the road and into a rock wall in the 2500 block of North Wilbur Road at 3:15 a.m.
April 10: A motorcyclist was hit by a car when the driver attempted to make a right turn from a left-turn-only lane. He was not seriously injured.
April 11: A family evacuated their home in the 3700 block of South Reeves Road when their fire alarm activated. Crews found smoke and traced the problem to a malfunctioning furnace. A vehicle fire was reported in the intersection at 100 N. Raymond Road. The engine of an older Ford pickup caught fire.
April 14: A reported fire in the 3800 block of North Argonne Road turned out to be a smoldering camp fire.
April 15: A small shed fire was reported in the 17000 block of East Meadowbrook Lane. The homeowner told firefighters she had just put a trash can filled with paper and cigarette butts in the garage. A 12-year-old girl was taken to the hospital after she was hit by a car while riding her bike in the 1300 block of North Vista Road.
April 16: Firefighters were called for a fire in the 7200 block of North Moose Lane. The fire turned out to be a controlled burn authorized by the Department of Natural Resources.
By the numbers: Firefighters responded to 628 calls in the two weeks from April 4-17, including 529 calls for emergency medical services. Other responses included 32 car accidents, a suspected fire that turned out to be smoke from a wood stove, and a mother who accidentally locked herself out of the house with her baby inside.