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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Barking puppy alerts family to fire at Spokane Valley apartments

Fire damaged four apartments, seven garages; cause undetermined

Seven garages were damaged or destroyed at a fire at the Broadway Square Apartments Monday morning.  (Dan Pelle)
After a fire ravaged their apartment Monday morning in Spokane Valley, a family of three thanked their puppy, Bonita, for alerting them to the danger. Bonita started barking around 9 a.m. when a row of garages at the Broadway Square Apartments, 11910 E. Broadway Ave., caught fire. The barking alerted the dog’s owner, Tara Peters, who was at home with her 4-year-old son, Anthony. Peters said the fire jumped from the garages and tore through the attic of her family’s second-floor apartment. She, her son and Bonita escaped unharmed, but their home was severely damaged. “I thought we were going to lose everything,” Peters said. The fire started inside one of the garages and spread to at least six others, causing the roof to collapse over several of them. A neighbor called 911, and Spokane Valley firefighters sounded a second alarm when the blaze spread to the apartment building, which is not connected. The damage was most severe in the Peters’ apartment. Three others were damaged; one was vacant. The flames also licked tree branches overhead. No injuries were reported. Spokane Valley Fire Capt. Jeff Bordwell said the cause of the fire is under investigation and is not considered suspicious. But several neighbors speculated drug activity was involved. “I’ll say this: Anything could be in that garage,” Bordwell said. “I don’t know if it was ammunition or cans of something or what.” The structural damage alone could cost up to $150,000, Bordwell said. The fire also damaged many personal belongings. “Most of my clothes are in that garage,” said Jennifer Akers, who lives in one of the undamaged apartments with her 8-year-old nephew. There were boxes of family photos, too, she said while waiting to survey the damage. Akers said she heard many loud popping sounds coming from the garage where the fire started. “I honestly thought some kids were setting off some firecrackers right by my window,” she said. Fifteen engines from the Spokane Valley Fire Department and rural Districts 8 and 9 responded to the fire. Firefighters could be seen dismantling the charred garages and cutting into the attic of the apartment building with chainsaws. Peters’ husband, Steven, was at work when the fire started. Coincidentally, he repairs fire- and water-damaged buildings for the Spokane Valley company Covington Construction & Restoration. Company employees were at the scene bidding to repair the apartments. “Bonita saved everybody,” Steven Peters said, holding Anthony, who was visibly shaken. “Without her, we wouldn’t have known about the fire.”