Blaze guts apartment, damages 5 others

An early morning fire Sunday gutted an apartment and damaged five others in north Spokane.

No one was hurt in the two-alarm fire at Deer Run North Pointe, 1225 E. Westview Court.

About 40 firefighters and 11 fire trucks responded to the blaze, which was reported to the Spokane Fire Department just before 5 a.m., said Battalion Chief Bruce Moline.

Moline, who was on the scene, said the blaze threatened an 18-unit wing of the complex, but was confined to a single apartment. The five apartments damaged suffered water and smoke damage.

Although the cause of the fire is still being investigated, Moline said it started on a third-floor balcony. Sometimes balcony fires are caused by embers from cigarettes or barbecues, he said.

Dwight Kasinger, who lives in a second-floor apartment in the complex, evacuated his family after he looked through miniblinds and saw a wall of smoke.

“I couldn’t even see the railing, which is 5 feet from the window,” said Kasinger, 25. “We got out pretty quickly.”

He and his girlfriend, Laura Boldt, 32, left with their three children, including a 16-year-old and a 15-month-old.

Firefighters were able to save many of the residents’ possessions. Kasinger said most of their property was fine because firefighters threw tarps over it to minimize smoke and water damage.

Among the items saved was a 160-year-old spinning wheel owned by his girlfriend’s Norwegian great-grandmother, he said.

Kasinger said his family is staying with a relative in Spokane Valley.

The Red Cross is helping some of the residents, Moline said, and the apartment complex was also able to provide two vacant apartments.