Suspicious South Hill fires put revitalization plans on hold

Suspicious Sunday morning fires on the lower South Hill have put one woman’s plans to revitalize the street temporarily on hold. The fire, reported just after 6 a.m. Sunday, damaged houses at 351, 359 and 363 E. Fifth Ave., all adjacent to Interstate 90. Flames spread quickly, causing firefighters to upgrade the blaze to a three-alarm fire. “When you were driving by you could see fire coming from all those houses. We were getting inundated with calls,” Assistant Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer said. Interior designer Bridgit Wilson had just closed on the middle house on Monday, and bought another of the three about a month ago. Her parents recently bought the last house in the trio, and the family were planning to fix them up and open them as commercial space. Spokane Fire Department investigator Ethan Verduin said three separate fires started Sunday morning – one in each house. An accelerant-detecting dog from the Spokane Valley Fire Department helped investigators gather samples for analysis to see if the fires may have been set deliberately. The home at 351 E. Fifth Ave. appeared the most visibly damaged on Monday. A second-story fire burned through the roof, leaving the interior charred all the way to the chimney. Though a vacant lot between that home and its neighbor was unscarred, the back addition at 359 E. Fifth Ave. was also visibly burned. More than 40 firefighters responded to control the fires, which threatened several adjacent businesses. All three homes were unoccupied, and no one was injured in the fires. Wilson said the houses have been vacant for a long time, with squatters living inside and causing problems for local businesses. She and her parents have had to kick people out of the houses multiple times, and one of the homeless people living there had gotten into an argument with her father over the weekend. “I think they just felt like these were their places,” she said. Built in 1901, the properties are the only historic homes still standing on the block, which is largely commercial. They’re across the street from the parking lot of Rockwood Clinic’s main location. The plan was for one house to serve as the headquarters for Wilson’s interior design business, while the others could be rented out for mixed commercial use. “All the owners were really excited we were going to do something with these,” she said, referring to the other property owners on the block. Though the fire will be a setback, she said she’s determined to see her revitalization project through. “It’s just a shame because we’re trying to do something really good,” she said.