Cars crash in front of fire at Spokane Valley business

Motorists passing a garage fire Thursday night in Spokane Valley crashed, causing significant damage to their vehicles but leaving the drivers uninjured.

Spokane Valley Firefighters responded to reports of a fire at Gober Sewer at 11215 E. Trent Ave. just before 8 p.m. Thursday.

One bay of the company’s garage was on fire, but crews were able to knock down the flames in less than 20 minutes, said Captain Scott Crawford with the Spokane Valley Fire Department.

“They had a good knockdown,” Crawford said.

As crews were fighting the flames, one car rear-ended another in front of the scene.

“In the middle of our operations there was a motor vehicle accident right in front of the fire,” Crawford said.

Fire crews and the ambulance at the fire quickly responded to the accident, Crawford said.

The crash caused “significant damage” to both vehicles, but no one was injured, he said.

Crawford encouraged drivers to “slow down and pay attention” to the road when passing first responders.

Crews were able to contain the fire to the garage and prevent spread into the office building, Crawford said.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation Friday .