Outbuilding fires make for busy week in Valley

An old barn and a garage were destroyed by fire in separate incidents the week of March 22-Wednesday. Multiple Spokane Valley Fire Department crews responded to both incidents.

An old barn next to a vacant house at Park Road and Broadway Avenue caught fire Tuesday morning. The fire was reported at 9:01 a.m. and the building was fully involved when firefighters arrived. It was an arson, said Assistant Fire Marshal Bill Clifford. The value of the building was estimated at $500. “It was an old, dilapidated barn that was probably going to be torn down anyway,” he said. Anyone with information on the fire is asked to call the department at (509) 928-1700.

A detached garage caught fire just after 4 a.m. on March 22 in the 6500 block of East Seventh Avenue. The garage and its contents were destroyed and the cost of the damage is estimated at $40,000, Clifford said. The cause of the fire is undetermined.

A heat lamp was placed too close to combustibles in a chicken coop and started a fire at 2:47 p.m. on March 24 in the 7700 block of East Marietta Avenue. “I’m sorry to report there was a death of a chicken,” Clifford said.

An electrical fire caused about $5,000 in damage to a home in the 10700 block of East Valleyway Avenue just after 1:30 a.m. Monday. A group of children reportedly started a grass fire at Appleway Boulevard and Barker Road the evening of March 23. “One of the boys had lit some weeds on fire and caused a small grass fire,” Clifford said. “An investigator was called and spoke with the kids.”

The department responded to a total of 225 calls and 165 of them were EMS calls. There were 24 car accidents reported, one of them a double fatality involving a motorcyclist and a bicyclist. Eight other people were taken to the hospital for treatment of their injuries.

A citizen called the department Tuesday evening to report finding several syringes on the side of the road in the 12100 block of East Third Avenue. “We responded out there, picked them up and put them in our Sharps container on our engine,” Clifford said.