Calls involve mix of small fires

Spokane Valley Fire Department crews responded to the normal number of calls the week of May 5 to 11 but didn’t have to deal with any major house fires.

Instead the fire calls were a mix of legal recreational fires, illegal yard debris and a report of smoke in the area that turned out to be someone’s overly smoky barbecue.

A report of children setting pine needles on fire was called in at 2:41 p.m. on May 5 in the 9500 block of East Fifth Avenue. Nothing was found when a crew arrived, said Assistant Fire Marshal Bill Clifford.

There’s usually an increase of that type of call once the weather warms up, Clifford said. “It’s that time, when they’re going to be playing outside after school and mom and dad aren’t home from work yet,” he said.

The department also responded to a lawnmower fire at 2:17 p.m. on May 8 in the 3200 block of South Progress Road. The residents mowed their yard and then put the mower away. “It was possibly too close to combustibles in their shed,” he said.

There were 13 car accidents reported during the week that sent three people to the hospital. Crews responded to 161 EMS calls out of the total of 205 calls for help. They also responded to a call for a person who needed help getting their wheelchair unstuck and a report of a small child locked inside a car.