32-year-old identified as man who died in northwest Spokane house fire

The man who died last week in a house fire investigators say he purposefully ignited has been identified as 32-year-old Joshua Barber.

The Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office said Barber’s cause and manner of death are pending.

Barber set the fire March 5 at 3721 W. Elmhurst Ave. after an argument with his roommates, according to the Spokane Fire Department. Barber then went inside a bathroom in the house where firefighters found him dead.

Firefighters arrived in four minutes and found heavy fire coming from the garage and extending into the home, the department said. The fire also brought power lines down at the back of the house.

Aerosol cans and propane cylinders in the garage were the source of explosions witnesses heard, fire investigators said.

Neighbors reported several people fleeing the scene before the fire department and law enforcement arrived, according to search warrant documents filed March 7 in Spokane County Superior Court.

Several residents of the home told police Barber, who lived there, was likely the person who died, documents say. The residents said Barber was last seen in the area of the garage before the fire and had alerted the roommates.