Firefighters stop towering brush fire from spreading to structures at Honeywell plant in Spokane Valley

A wall of flame shut down Sullivan Road outside the Spokane Valley Honeywell plant and prompted a heavy response from the Spokane Valley Fire Department Wednesday afternoon.

The fire consumed a long row of tall arborvitae bushes that lined the road. When crews arrived the bushes were a wall of flame and embers were blowing across the busy road, said fire department spokeswoman Melanie Rose.

“We responded with a lot of units right away because of Honeywell and the types of hazardous chemicals they have,” she said.

A dumpster and a bus bench caught fire and several small storage sheds were damaged, but the fire did not spread to the Honeywell building. The bushes were directly under power lines and Avista Utilities was called to check for damage.

The fire was started by a lawn mower, Rose said. Someone was mowing the strip of grass between the sidewalk and the bushes when the mower became stuck. The heat from the mower started the fire, which rapidly spread in high winds.

Sullivan Road was closed in both directions for several hours while firefighters put out the fire and conducted an investigation.