Fires flare throughout district
It was another busy time full of brush fires and house fires the week of July 23-31, but Spokane Valley Fire Department crews also fit in a few of the more unusual calls.
Crews rescued a small dog that had gotten its head stuck inside a recliner in the 600 block of North Bowdish Road on July 25. Firefighters were able to free the dog without injury, said Assistant Fire Marshal Bill Clifford. “I guess we still do animal rescues every now and then,” he said.
A fire inside the back of a Budget rental truck had an unusual cause early Sunday morning in the 26800 block of East Eastland Avenue. The truck had been rented by a crew from Entertainment Fireworks and had been loaded the night before with empty launch tubes in wooden racks after a show.
“They woke up the next morning with smoke coming from the back of it,” he said. “They had some smoldering debris in one or two of the tubes that caught fire.” The truck sustained about $15,000 in damage.
A burning phone book was reported in the middle of Broadway Avenue just west of McDonald Road at 3:21 a.m. on July 26.
Campfires started two brush fires during the week and could have started more. After weeks of hot and dry conditions a burn ban is now in effect, which makes campfires illegal. An unattended transient camp fire charred about an acre of grass and trees north of 12700 E. Mansfield Avenue on Tuesday afternoon. A backyard fire spread out of its fire pit in the 100 block of South Green Ridge Drive in Liberty Lake on July 25. Firefighters were able to protect nearby homes.
Firefighters responded to four additional backyard fires to request that they be extinguished. An unattended campfire was reported Sunday behind Savage Land Pizza in the Dishman Hills. Another campfire was reported Sunday evening in the 300 block of South Dishman Road. “It didn’t go anywhere, but it was smoldering and a hiker spotted it,” Clifford said. “We responded and extinguished it.”
Faulty electrical wiring is believed to be the cause of a fire that caused $75,000 in damage to a home in the 8000 block of East Upriver Drive just after 3 a.m. on July 26. No one was home at the time, but a cat died of smoke inhalation.
A short in the battery of a 1969 Camaro started the car on fire in the 1000 block of North Pierce Road on July 26. The homeowner noticed smoke coming from his shop when he went outside to pick raspberries.
Crews also responded to a small kitchen fire and a small outdoor fire started by an improperly disposed of cigarette. A discarded cigarette may also be the cause of two small simultaneous fires on the side of Interstate 90 near the Pines exit just before 11 p.m. Sunday.
The 274 calls received during the week included 210 emergency medical services calls. There were 15 car accidents reported that sent two people to the hospital with minor injuries.