I've got more information on the two fires in Spokane Valley yesterday and it's almost enough to make you never want to cook again. The first one in the 12000 block of East 25th was reported in the morning. According to the Spokane Valley Fire Department, the homeowners said they placed pop tarts in the toaster, left the kitchen briefly and when they came back the toaster was on fire. The kitchen was heavily damaged - to the tune of $60,000.

The second fire in the 7000 block of East Second was caused when a woman left a pan on the stove, which caught fire. The woman was sleeping, but was woken up by the smoke. That one could have ended badly, as the woman's smoke detectors were not functioning.

While never cooking again isn't terribly realistic, at the very least people should stick around the kitchen while cooking. You never know when something as simple as heating up a pop tart can go wrong.

Spokane Valley Fire Department crews are responding to a reported kitchen fire in the 12000 block of East 25th. The homeowners have evacuated safely. The first crew on the scene is reporting that the fire may have spread into the eaves.

8 a.m. update: crews are already reporting that the fire is knocked down. That's fast work.

In reaction to last night’s kitchen fire at Station 6, Spokane Valley Fire assistant fire marshal Bill Clifford put pen to paper to write up the incident in a poem pattered after the classic “Twas the Night Before Christmas.”

A few notes before we begin. There is not actually a location of Fifth and Oak in Spokane Valley. Call it poetic license for rhyming reasons. And a yelp is apparently the name of a specific setting on the fire deparment sirens. (You learn something new every day.)

So without further ado, here is “Twas Almost the Night before Christmas” by Bill Clifford. (Click to read the extended post.)

Spokane Valley Fire Department firefighter Joe Rees, paramedic/engineer Dave Fegele and Capt. Chris Neumann put out a kitchen fire caused by a faulty dishwasher inside Station 6 on Monday. The photo is courtesy of the Spokane Valley Fire Department.

Spokane Valley Fire crews didn’t have far to go to put out a fire just after 11 p.m. Monday. It was in their own kitchen.

A crew from Station 6 on the west end of Spokane Valley near Sprague and I-90 was returning to the station from a call when they noticed a smoke alarm beeping, said assistant fire marshal Bill Clifford. Black smoke and flames were spotted in the station’s kitchen and the crew put it out with a fire extinguisher. An additional crew was called in to help make sure the fire was out.

The fire, which caused $5,000 in damage, was traced to a malfunctioning dishwasher that had apparently been subject to a recall. The dishwasher was between five and 10 years old. “It started right in the control panel,” said Clifford.

The fire burnt the front of the washer and had spread to the countertop before it was discovered. Cleaning crews spent the day Tuesday cleaning carpets and furniture so crews could move back into the station. “They’ve been responding from Station 1 all day,” Clifford said.