Woman dies in Hillyard apartment fire

A woman was killed early Friday in an apartment fire in Hillyard near Shaw Middle School.

Spokane firefighters were called to the Winchester Court apartment complex at 4103 N. Cook St. at about 1:15 a.m. on a report of smoke coming from a second-floor window in one of the building’s units, the Spokane Fire Department reported in a news release. Flames were coming from a window when crews arrived.

Firefighters doused the fire within five minutes and discovered the woman, the fire department said. The blaze did not spread to other apartments in the building, but the Red Cross responded to assist tenants temporarily displaced.

Gordon Hester, vice president of Kiemle and Hagood, the complex’s property management company, said the fire had caused smoke damage in some adjacent units, but no structural damage. He wasn’t immediately sure Friday how many residents were displaced.

He said the complex was mostly housing for senior citizens.