Three Valley House Fires Ruled Accidental

Unrelated fires damaged three houses in the Spokane Valley during the past week, chasing more than a dozen people from their homes.

No one was injured in the blazes, and all were started by accidental causes, said Eric Olson, Valley Fire deputy fire marshal.

The most recent, an attic fire early Monday, sent a couple, their two children and a visiting child scurrying out the door of a home at 14321 E. Rich. Smoke detectors and an alert 6-year-old girl woke the family about 4:35 a.m., Olson said.

A porch light shorted out, causing the fire, which climbed into the attic. Firefighters stopped the blaze before it crept into the home’s living space.

The attic was severely damaged and the roof may need to be replaced, Olson said. Damage was estimated at $20,000.

Last Thursday afternoon, a fire in an upstairs crawl space scattered four roommates from 5515 E. DeSmet.

One of the roommates told firefighters he began smelling smoke in the house about noon. Three and a half hours later, a florescent kitchen light began to spark and smoke. Heavy smoke filled the upstairs bedrooms.

Firefighters discovered the fire in a crawl space off an upstairs room, Olson said. A tangle of electrical wires resting on a beam above the kitchen was determined to have sparked the fire, he said.

The crawl space was being used to store several things, including paperback books and plastic clothing containers. The blaze destroyed the house. The home’s owner, Kelly Smith, was not insured, Olson said.

In the third fire, a child playing with a lighter was blamed for starting the blaze that severely damaged a Dishman home last Wednesday.

The two-alarm fire tore through the house at 8517 E. Alki about 6:15 p.m. Firefighters from eight trucks battled the blaze.

An 8-year-old boy and his 5-year-old sister were home alone where the fire started, firefighters said. The boy found a lighter in his mother’s bedroom and accidently lit a doily on fire, according to a Valley Fire report. He tried to douse the fire with water, but the flames spread.

Panicked, the boy ran next door and told the neighbor his house was on fire. The neighbor returned to the house and woke up the boy’s sister, who was sleeping downstairs, and called the fire department.

Damage was estimated at $60,000.

The home’s owner, Candi Sue Van Allen, 29, left the children with her ex-husband while she was at work, according to the Valley Fire report. John Van Allen told firefighters he left to buy the children dinner and was gone about 15 minutes. , DataTimes