Fire calls change with the weather

Cooler fall weather seems to have tamed the number of calls received by the Spokane Valley Fire Department for the week of Oct. 6-12, which dropped to a more normal 201 calls after weeks of much higher numbers.

The department was called to two kitchen fires. One of the calls came in just before 10:30 a.m. Wednesday in the area of Jackson Avenue and Woodward Road. A woman and her daughter were heating oil on the stove, said Assistant Fire Marshal Bill Clifford. “The pan caught on fire,” he said. “One received burns to her hand trying to put out the fire.”

The manufactured home sustained about $5,000 in smoke damage, Clifford said.

The cooler temperatures have brought a rise in calls for people burning yard debris. “That is not allowed,” Clifford said. “If they live within our response area, there is no burning allowed. They have to take that to the transfer station.”

The department also responded to several calls related to people starting up their furnaces and fireplaces for the first time. Clifford said the department recommends that people get their furnaces and fireplaces serviced before starting them up for the season.

One of the two vehicle fire calls received was unusual because it was the car’s trunk that was on fire, Clifford said. “What was burning in the trunk, I don’t have a clue,” he said. “It was kind of strange. Usually fires don’t start in the trunk.”

There were 154 EMS calls during the week and 16 car accidents that sent six people to the hospital. A car crashed into a fire hydrant near Felts Lane and Appleway and knocked over the hydrant.