Elderly woman dies in north Spokane house fire

A 97-year-old woman died in a house fire on Spokane’s north side early Tuesday morning, a Spokane Fire Department official said. The Spokane Fire Department would not release the victim’s name, but neighbors identified her as Olga Ford and said she was a longtime neighborhood resident. She lived with her son, Trevor, who was able to escape from the fire with minor injuries. Neighbors reported the fire at 1227 E. Longfellow Ave. at 7:18 a.m. Jodi Elliot, who lives across the street, said her 9-year-old-daughter, Braelin Moyles, spotted the flames as she was getting ready for school. Elliot said the fire filling her neighbor’s house is a sight she’ll never forget. “The window was nothing but fire,” she said. Assistant Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer said Ford’s son, Trevor, awoke to a knocking sound, opened his bedroom door, encountered smoke and went outside. He discovered that his mother was not outside and attempted to go back in to get her, Schaeffer said. At that point, it was too dangerous to re-enter the house, Schaeffer said. Trevor Ford denied treatment or transport to a hospital. Schaeffer said he had some singed hair and smoke inhalation but was otherwise unharmed. Fire crews made “heroic” attempts to save Olga Ford, but she died at the scene in the house’s back bedroom, he said. The house did not have a working smoke alarm at the time of the fire, Schaeffer said. Neighbors said Ford had lived in her home for at least 40 years, making her one of the neighborhood’s original residents. She made a living altering clothing and made dresses for prom and other special occasions. “We all still watched out for her,” said one neighbor, who didn’t want to give her name. The fire’s cause has not been determined, Schaeffer said. Major crimes detectives from the Spokane Police Department were on-scene investigating, which is standard practice for any fatal fire.