Spokane officer rescues woman from burning car

A Spokane police officer pulled a woman from her burning car Friday night after she called for help.

A woman called 911 from the 6100 block of North Cannon Street just before 10 p.m. to report that her car was on fire and she was trapped inside, unable to break the windows to get out. Officer Tim Schwering, the former civilian director of SPD’s Office of Professional Accountability who attended the Police Academy to become an officer, was the first to arrive on the scene. He broke out the driver’s side window with his baton, according to a police news release.

Schwering was unable to unlock the door and had to pull out the entire window. He and a neighbor pulled the woman from her burning car.

Spokane Fire Department crews arrived to find the car’s engine compartment on fire with the bumper melted off, the news release said. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Schwering and the woman were treated for smoke inhalation. The neighbor received a minor cut from the broken window.