District 8 firefighters rescue burning man

Spokane County Fire District 8 firefighters rescued an unconscious man from a brush fire Tuesday morning in the 6700 block of South Mount Vernon. The crew at the fire station at 61st Avenue and Palouse Highway noticed a column of smoke nearby around 8:45 a.m. and went to check it out, said Deputy Chief Greg Godfrey. They found a small brush fire. “As they started to advance a hose line, they noticed a man on the ground, burning,” he said. “He was on fire.” Firefighters pulled the man from the flames and treated him before sending him to Sacred Heart Medical Center. About 14 percent of his body was burned, Godfrey said. Information on his condition was unavailable Tuesday night. Crews from Spokane Fire, Spokane Valley Fire and the Department of Natural Resources helped put the fire out quickly. The injured man may have been a transient. A small camp was found nearby and it appears that a camp fire may have started the blaze, Godfrey said. The incident is under investigation.