Man dies of injuries from Sunday house fire

A 61-year-old man has died from burns and smoke inhalation sustained in a north Spokane house fire that broke out early Sunday, the Spokane Fire Department said in a news release. Gregory Paul Case died from injuries he received around 3 a.m. Sunday before evacuating a burning single-story structure at 609 E. Euclid Ave., according to the Fire Department. The building was being used as a four-unit rental property, and six people were inside when the fire began, according to fire officials. Case and an unidentified female were the only two reported injured. The woman was treated for a minor knee injury, while Case sustained second- and third-degree burns in addition to smoke inhalation. He was first treated at Sacred Heart Medical Center before being flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, the Fire Department said. Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire, which was confined to a basement hallway and stairs. A basement apartment was rendered uninhabitable by fire damage, estimated around $5,000. The Red Cross is providing housing to the displaced occupants. Case’s death is the first fire-related fatality this year in Spokane, according to the Fire Department.