In brief: Providence purchases another Spokane clinic

A large physician practice has joined the growing Providence Medical Group.

Physicians Clinic of Spokane has 17 doctors and three nurse practitioners seeing patients at three locations in Spokane – including offices near Providence’s Sacred Heart Medical Center and those near competitor Deaconess Hospital. The practice has a focus on internal medicine and rheumatology.

Terms of the purchase were not released.

Providence now has 243 physicians employed in Spokane and Stevens counties, along with advanced practitioners, nurses and support staff.

Registration starts today for Valley swim lessons

Registration for the first swim lessons at Spokane Valley pools begins at 5 p.m. today. People must sign up in person at the pool where the session will be held, and spots sometimes fill up quickly. The pools are located at 906 N. Park Road (Park Road Pool), 11123 E. Mission Ave. (Valley Mission Pool) and 13525 E. 24th Ave. (Terrace View Pool).

The session is from June 25 to July 6 and is $30 per person. Lessons are available in the morning at all three pools, and evening lessons will be offered at Valley Mission Pool for the first session. Lessons are available for children of all ages; children ages six months to 3 years may take a lesson with a parent in the evening at Valley Mission Pool.

All the pools open for the season on Saturday. Open swims are $1 per person. For more information contact Park Road Pool at (509) 926-1840, Valley Mission at (509) 922-7091 or Terrace View at (509) 924-4707.

Firefighters smell smoke, stop to extinguish blaze

A Spokane Fire Department crew stumbled upon and extinguished a fire at 4101 E. Frederick Ave. Wednesday night.

Engine 2 arrived first on the scene just before 7 p.m. when the crew members stopped to check out a smoky odor they noticed nearby.

The crew evacuated a person inside the home before calling for more firefighters.

Six fire companies and 20 firefighters contained the flames to one room and determined that the cause of the fire was smoking-related.