Firefighters called to gas-soaked house

Spokane Valley firefighters had only 168 calls in the seven days that ended Wednesday, down from 215 in the previous reporting period.

However, a disturbing hazardous-materials call had tragic potential.

Deputy Fire Marshal Bill Clifford said Spokane Valley police called firefighters to a gasoline-soaked home in the 5200 block of North Kenney Road in Otis Orchards about 5:10 p.m. Feb. 14.

The female occupant’s boyfriend allegedly poured gasoline on floors throughout the house and used a kitchen stove to ignite some combustible material, Clifford said. He said the house was evacuated and the fire was extinguished before it could cause an explosion.

The fire department and police are investigating separate aspects of the incident. Clifford said fire investigators could file an arson charge, but they were still trying to determine the man’s motive. Officials suspect mental health issues, he said.

The man was alone when the gasoline was poured. His girlfriend called 911 when she came home and smelled the fumes, Clifford said.

Three other hazmat calls involved minor natural gas leaks, and one call was for a gas odor that firefighters couldn’t detect when they arrived.

A detached garage was destroyed in one of 11 reports of structure fires, and a house sustained an estimated $10,000 worth of damage in another fire.

The house fire, reported shortly after 4 p.m. Tuesday at 11610 E. 12th Ave., was caused by an untended candle that ignited a wooden shelf. Clifford said flames from the shelf moved up a bedroom wallpaper border and into the attic.

Oddly, he said, firefighters found “a lot of smoldering spots” in the attic, but no flames. Clifford said the burning patches were spread so widely that firefighters had to pull down substantial portions of ceiling in a hallway and living room as well as the bedroom.

Two adults and three children in the home at the time of the fire were not injured.

Clifford said no one was at home when a fire broke out the next morning in a detached garage at 8010 E. South Riverway Ave. A neighbor reported the fire.

No dollar value had been estimated later in the week, but Clifford said the garage and woodworking tools inside it were a total loss.

Nine vehicle accidents sent only two people to hospitals, with minor injuries.

Two reports of vehicle fires turned out to be overheated engines.

There were 130 calls for emergency medical service.

In two calls for general service, firefighters rescued an infant from a locked car and freed a man whose electric wheelchair got wedged in a corner of an apartment building elevator.