Arson Supected In Valley Motel Fire

Fire investigators suspect two people intentionally set a fire that burned a unit at a Spokane Valley motel and filled the hallway with smoke last week.

Investigators are hopeful witnesses will pick the suspects out of a photo lineup, Deputy Fire Marshal Eric Olson said Monday. He said the suspects, whom he refused to identify, could be arrested later this week.

A pile of bedding and couch cushions was set on fire and left in a motel room bathroom at the Comfort Inn, 905 N. Sullivan, Friday morning, sending a handful of guests running for the exits.

The fire damaged a second-floor two-bedroom kitchenette unit in a separate wing north of the Comfort Inn’s main building. A maintenance worker who discovered the fire was treated for minor smoke inhalation at the scene and not hospitalized.

None of the motel guests was injured.

Valley Fire Chief Pat Humphries said arson was the cause of the fire. A sheriff’s deputy was called to the scene because arson investigators found drug paraphernalia in the room, Humphries said.

The room was not occupied when the fire started, but the room was rented, Humphries said. The guest’s name was not released.

Ed Miles, 26, discovered the fire while working outside the motel’s north wing and saw smoke coming from one of the units about 11:30 a.m. Miles yelled at a housekeeper to call the fire department and rushed inside to make sure no one was trapped in the fire.

Miles pounded on motel room doors and grabbed a fire extinguisher on his way to the burning room, where he used a master key to get inside.

Once inside, Miles heard the fire crackling and noticed a yellow glow coming from the bathroom.

“There was flames, a lot of smoke,” Miles said. “I just hit it with a fire extinguisher and tried to get out as quick as I could.”

Smoke quickly filled the room, forcing Miles to retreat before he could douse the flames.

Firefighters stationed across the freeway from the motel arrived quickly and knocked down the flames before the fire could spread to adjoining rooms, said Assistant Chief Karl Bold. The fire did not appear to have burned very long, Bold said.

Comfort Inn Manager Dave Heinen said four to six rooms in that wing were evacuated before firefighters arrived.

A woman who was staying in the room where the fire started called the front desk to ask for help hooking up a video cassette player about an hour before the blaze was discovered, Miles said. The woman called back a few minutes later and said she had hooked up the VCR and no longer needed help, he said.

She did not return to the room Friday afternoon.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo