Fire destroys house in Valley

A fire in Spokane Valley on Tuesday evening spread throughout a two-story house fast and burned long, sending a plume of dark smoke into the air that witnesses said could be seen on the South Hill.

Edwin Link realized his home was on fire about 4:30 p.m. After finding flames at the base of a wall inside his house in the 4900 block of East Eighth Avenue, Link tried to fill a bucket with water to put it out.

“By the time we got a half a bucketful, it was all up like a match,” he said.

Fire spread quickly to the rest of the house and into a garage connected by a covered walkway, Spokane Valley Fire spokesman Bill Clifford said.

About 25 firefighters sprayed down the house from the outside for an hour before the blaze was completely out, he said.

“It took a lot of water,” Clifford said.

The house and its contents were a total loss. Link said he does not carry insurance.

Several vehicles next to the house also may have been damaged, but the fire did not spread to other houses.

Neighbors also reported hearing multiple explosions coming from the house.

Link said there were seven oxygen bottles inside, which could have blown up.

“When we heard that boom, we started running,” said Ray Drake, who lives two houses away.

Two neighbors started spraying down houses next to the burning residence, Drake said, and he helped one of his neighbors move a motor home away from the fire.

No one was injured in the fire or while fighting it, Clifford said.

A Red Cross spokeswoman said the agency would assist the three occupants with food, clothing and shelter.