Two severely burned in Chattaroy mobile home explosion

CHATTAROY — The Spokane County Major Crimes unit is investigating a mobile home fire on Wednesday as a potential domestic assault. A man and a woman were severely burned fire that began at about 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday on the 3100 block of East Chattaroy Road. An firefighter with Fire District 4 was at the station when he heard an explosion at Chattaroy Valley Estates, the mobile home park right across the street, Division Chief Howard Johnson said. The firefighter immediately responded, calling for backup, but by the time other firefighters arrived it was too late. The home was engulfed in flames, destroyed in a matter of minutes, Johnson said. Flames and smoke shot more than 30 feet in the air. The two patients were airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with severe burns covering most of their body, Johnson said. Sgt. Doug Marske with Spokane County Sheriff’s Department said they received information that the fire was set intentionally. Detectives don’t know what prompted the dispute at this time. Deanna Moore, who lives nearby, was visiting her mother at the mobile home park when she saw the blaze. A propane tank was in the yard, spewing flames, she said. Moore said she saw the male victim collapsed in the yard, on fire, and the female victim running through the yard, her clothes on fire and melting. The female was responsive and said she’d been blown out of the mobile home when the explosion occurred. Both were burnt from head to toe, Moore said.