Crews respond to minor fires, injuries

Spokane Valley Fire Marshal Kevin Miller would like to share a few words with thieves who have been stealing the brass fittings used to hook fire hoses up to businesses’ water supply.

“Recyclers know not to take these,” he said. “So to all you folks stealing this stuff, don’t take them. They’re not worth anything.”

An additional theft was discovered recently when firefighters responded to a Dumpster fire at the Home Depot and noticed the fitting from the store was gone. “We lost three of them over in that area before,” Miller said. “Chances are this one got stolen around that time and we just didn’t notice.”

The Dumpster fire was one of 256 calls received from July 11 to 17. No serious fires were reported, but there were some brush fires to contend with as the hot, dry weather continued.

A firework came over the wall next to Interstate 90 between the Argonne Road and Broadway Avenue exits and started a small fire next to the freeway on Sunday.

A brush fire reported in the hills north of Mansfield Avenue and east of Pines Road put out a fair amount of smoke on Monday afternoon. The fire burned about 50 square feet, Miller said. “We found a campfire that was in the middle of it,” he said.

The area is a frequent spot for brush fires every summer, most of them are caused by children playing with fire or by transients, Miller said. “We always have fires up there,” he said.

Crews were called to Bowdish Middle School Wednesday at 6 p.m. It turned out that an HVAC unit had malfunctioned and pumped smoke into some classrooms, which set off the fire alarm. Damage was confined to the HVAC unit, Miller said.

Two of the accidents reported during the week involved motorcycles. A couple were riding on south Liberty Lake Road the afternoon of July 11 when they crashed. “They got some pretty good road rash and had to be taken to the hospital,” Miller said.

Later that same day a motorcyclist slammed into the back of a car that had braked suddenly at Broadway Avenue and Sargent Street. A four-wheeler accident involving a man riding with his 3-year-old son sitting in front of him was reported on Appleway Road near Stateline on Sunday. “He hit a berm and came forward and kind of squished the little guy against the handle bars,” Miller said. The child received a chest injury.

A 10-year-old boy rode his bike in front of a car near 28th Avenue and Evergreen Road Tuesday afternoon. “He pulled out in front of a car,” Miller said. “The lady tried to stop and hit him.” The boy was wearing a helmet but was taken to the hospital after complaining of back pain, Miller said.

Five non-injury accidents were reported during the week, and crews responded to 201 emergency medical services calls.

A crew also reported a found child. Firefighters at the Pinecroft Station on Wilbur Road had their truck bay door open just before 8:30 a.m. on Sunday when they noticed a boy who appeared to be 3 or 4 years old wandering around the trucks, Miller said. The boy was unable to tell firefighters where he lived. “They had no idea where he was from so they called the cops to come pick him up,” he said.