Fire roundup: Potholder left on stove sparks fire in Spokane Valley
A potholder was the culprit in a kitchen fire reported at 4105 N. McDonald Road on May 28.
The Spokane Valley Fire Department was called to the home just before 10 p.m. A Spokane County Sheriff’s Deputy noticed the fire and called it in. Crews initially thought a person was still inside the home, but the resident made it out on his own.
The fire was contained to the kitchen, said department spokeswoman Melanie Rose. A potholder had been left on a rear burner of the kitchen stove and the burner was turned on, she said.
The resident was taken to a local hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation. There were no working smoke detectors in the home, Rose said.
Other calls May 22 to June 4
May 24: A fire in a row of arborvitae shrubs was reported along Sullivan Road near the Honeywell Plant. The fire was started by a hot lawnmower after it became stuck. The fire spread quickly in brisk winds, damaging a bus bench and several power poles.
May 25: A homeowner using a propane torch to burn weeds set his home’s siding on fire in the 400 block of North Bessie Road. He was spraying the home down with a garden hose when crews arrived.
May 27: A motorcyclist was injured when a car turned left in front of him at 350 N. Barker Road. The rider, who was wearing a helmet, went up over the hood and smashed into the windshield. Two men were injured, one seriously, when their car hit a tree in the 1700 block of South Bowdish Road. Fire department crews, assisted by sheriff’s deputies, pulled a man from the Spokane River after he jumped off the Trent Avenue Bridge just east of Pines Road.
May 30: A crew was doing pre-incident planning at the Arbor Crest Winery on Fruithill Road when two women came running up to report that their pickup was on fire. The truck, located about 300 yards down the road, was extinguished.
May 31: The Valley fire department assisted Spokane County Fire District 8 with a fire in the 3200 block of South Conklin Road. A piece of heavy equipment was being used to clear brush in a forested area when a mechanical problem started a fire. The equipment operator was unable to put it out with a fire extinguisher. Damage is estimated at $100,000.
June 2: Crews were called to a mobile home in the 21700 block of East Wellesley Avenue. The resident reported that she was smoking a cigarette and burning a candle when her newspaper caught on fire. As she tried to carry the burning paper to the kitchen sink, a piece fell off and burned a small area of carpet. An excavator hit a 2-inch natural gas line while digging in the 2600 block of North Van Marter Road.
June 3: A car flipped on its side after it was rammed from behind while stopped at a stop light in the 14700 block of East Indiana Avenue. Bystanders were holding the car in place when crews arrived. The driver’s leg was trapped between the door and the steering wheel and she had to be cut from the vehicle.
By the numbers: Crews responded to 692 calls in the two weeks of May 22 to June 4, including 558 calls for emergency medical services. They also responded to 44 car crashes, an illegal yard waste fire, a legal backyard fire being used to roast marshmallows and a resident who believed his sewer was backing up into his basement because of the fire hydrant in front of his home.