Minor structure fires among calls

The Spokane Valley Fire Department had 197 calls from Jan. 3 to 9, including six structure fires.

Fire Inspector Bill Clifford said all of the structure fires, including a chimney fire, were “fairly minor.”

Firefighters also responded to a vehicle fire, an outdoor trash fire and 11 fire alarms – all false except for smoke from burning food in four cases.

Other responses included 150 medical emergencies and 22 vehicle accidents. The crashes were mostly weather-related and minor, Clifford said. Two people were taken to hospitals with minor injuries.

Also, a pedestrian was struck in a crosswalk in the 11500 block of East Sprague Avenue on Jan. 7 and was taken to a hospital with minor injuries.

In calls for other services, firefighters dealt with three children locked in running vehicles and a person locked out of a home.

People who use portable heaters to cope with the cold should be sure to keep the devices at least one yard away from combustible materials and to turn them off when they leave the room, Clifford warned. The same goes for candles, he said.