No injuries from extensive house fire

A home at 8214 E. South Riverway sustained heavy damage on Aug. 7 after a fire started on the back deck. The cause has yet to be determined, but may be either an improperly discarded cigarette or a problem with a newly purchased propane barbecue, said Spokane Valley Fire assistant fire marshal Bill Clifford.

“Obviously the fire spread to the structure and up into the attic,” he said.

Many deck fires are caused when people try to put out cigarettes in potted plants, because potting soil is flammable, but investigators aren’t sure if that is the case here, Clifford said. “They say they don’t extinguish their cigarettes in the potted plants.”

The fire was reported at 4:10 p.m. Firefighters rescued two dogs and a lizard from the blaze.

The damage is estimated at $160,000 and the residents will have to live elsewhere until repairs are complete, Clifford said. The homeowners were insured.

The house fire was the most significant during the week of Aug. 5-10, though there were 15 other fires reported. “Most of those were either illegal outdoor fires or recreational-type fires,” Clifford said.

A campfire spread to tall grass on the hill behind apartments at Pines Road and Mansfield Ave. on Aug. 6, a frequent spot for brush fires every year. “It’s just hard to get to with a brush truck up there,” Clifford said.

Firefighters also responded to a small fire in a field in the 23600 block of East Boone Avenue at 11:20 a.m. on Aug. 8. When crews arrived they saw a young male running from the area, Clifford said. Anyone with information on the fire is asked to call the department at (509) 928-1700.

The department was on the scene of a car accident in the 22700 block of East Trent Avenue at 10:42 a.m. on Aug. 9 when a citizen approached a member of the engine crew and said there was an item nearby that appeared to be a bomb, Clifford said. The device was six inches long, an inch in diameter, wrapped in duct tape and appeared to have a fuse. The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office bomb squad was called and they detonated what they identified as a sparkler bomb. “That snarled Trent up for three hours,” Clifford said.

The week saw 20 traffic accidents that sent four people to the hospital. Of the 217 calls, 166 were for emergency medical service. There were no service calls for people locked in or out of anything. “Nobody locked in vehicles,” Clifford said. “Can you believe it?”