House fires, rescue among calls during busy week

After a relatively slow period the week before, Valley Fire personnel Tuesday handled a large house fire, a technical rescue and a small fire in a trailer where a drug suspect climbed onto a roof and escaped while another was taken to the hospital after fighting police and being stunned with a Taser.

There were 185 calls to the department between April 24 and Monday, said Valley Fire spokesman Bill Clifford.

Among them were three reports of structure fires. At one house, a small kitchen fire was extinguished before firefighters arrived. Another residence had a small fire in an outside light, and in the third instance the smoke turned out to be a camp fire.

There were also 14 fire alarms, all false or minor, Clifford said.

Vehicle accidents were down, with five reported and one requiring a trip to the hospital, he said.

Other emergency medical situations comprised 158 calls.

Crews responded to the Honeywell building April 26 after a report of a natural gas smell but did not find a leak.

On Tuesday, fire destroyed a house at 10510 E. Dean Ave. A woman at home at the time said she heard an explosion, saw flames in the basement then ran to a neighbor’s house to call for help, Clifford said.

Before firefighters could extinguish the fire in the basement, it had spread through the walls and into the attic. An investigation is ongoing. Fire reached into every room of the house, but firefighters were able to pull a classic Ford Thunderbird out of the garage before it was destroyed.

Also Tuesday, seven units were dispatched to 2915 S. Dishman-Mica Road about 3:20 p.m. to help rescue an injured worker from the roof.

A 47-year-old man fell while roofing the house, Clifford said. A safety rope caught him, but he was trapped and experiencing pain and numbness.

Using technical rescue techniques, firefighters were able to get him to a hospital within an hour, Clifford said.

The excitement continued Tuesday night when Valley Fire was called to help Spokane Valley police with a fire in a travel trailer at 6811 E. Fifth Ave.

Officers were called to a mobile home next to the trailer after reports that there was drug activity going on and that a wanted felon was there, according to a release from Spokane Valley police spokesman Sgt. Dave Reagan.

They learned that Trent A. Yohe, 37, was in the travel trailer and announced their presence. At that point an unidentified man bolted from a vent in the trailer’s roof and police entered to find a pile of papers on fire on top of a computer and Yohe on the couch having what officers described as a seizure, Reagan said in the release.

When they pulled Yohe from the smoky trailer he began fighting, Reagan said. Police used a Taser on him, and he became unconscious, according to the release.

Paramedics arrived, and Yohe was taken to a local hospital where he was listed in critical condition early Wednesday.

The man who ran off was not apprehended, but Reagan said deputies believe they know who he is.