Passers-by extinguish fire at West Valley Outdoor Learning Center
Animals who help educate schoolchildren were saved from a fire early Wednesday when two passers-by put out an early morning fire at the West Valley Outdoor Learning Center.
Several live birds and reptiles were inside the center’s classroom building, as were more than a dozen stuffed and mounted animals and a similar number of fur pelts. None of the animals were harmed.
The two people saw flames on the outside of the building at 8706 E. Upriver Dr. and were able to use fire extinguishers to douse the fire before it spread inside, said Spokane Valley Fire Department Capt. Jeff Bordwell.
“If they hadn’t done that there would have been major damage done,” Bordwell said.
The fire began in a dog kennel on the back deck of the building, said West Valley School District Superintendent Gene Sementi. An electric warmer in the kennel may have malfunctioned, he said.
The West Valley Outdoor Learning Center uses hawks, owls, raptors and some reptiles to teach students from across the region about wildlife.
Two passers-by saw the fire just before 5:30 a.m. and called 911. They went inside the building, which had been inadvertently left unlocked, and got two fire extinguishers, Sementi said. A burglar alarm was triggered when they opened the door and a custodian was notified to respond to the scene. A cat has been living in the dog house that burned.
“The cat’s fine,” Sementi said. “It was wandering around wondering where its house is.”
By early afternoon a crew from SERVPRO of Northeast Spokane already had ripped the burned siding off the building and hauled it away. Specialists will be brought in to remove the odor of smoke from the stuffed animals, which include a turkey, bear, cougar, raccoon and many other Northwest natives.
SERVPRO owner Jason Maas, who helped clean up the mess, said he has family ties to the Outdoor Center.
“My kids went to school here,” he said. “It’s such a great place.”
Damage to the building is estimated by the fire department at $10,000.