A woman who lives at a Hillyard home significantly damaged by fire early Friday says the blaze likely was set by a man who was just kicked out.
The Spokane Fire Department said in a new release that the fire was “possibly suspicious in nature.”
Sharon Darby lives at the home across from Kehoe Park, at 4918 N. Nelson, with her son. She said that on Thursday she told another man who had been living there that he had to leave. During the day she packed up his things and put them in his car. Darby said that about 3 a.m., the man told her son through a window: “I’m going to burn down your home.”
Not long after the threat, her son heard some noises and discovered a large fire at the back of the home, Darby said.
Darby, her son and her grandson’s girlfriend were inside and escaped, though her son kept going back to rescue items, and he eventually escaped from the roof. The news release said that firefighters helped him off the roof with a ladder.
The fire appeared to start in the back home where there were two couches and a mattress on a deck, family members said. Flames spread up the back of the home into the attic.
The fire department estimated damage to the home at $25,000.
Darby said she has lived in the home for about six years and has no renter’s insurance. The home is owned by her sister.
She said that six cats survived the fire, but one is missing.
“I’m really just sick of Spokane,” Darby said. “People are really heinous.”
Below is an earlier version of this story.
Spokane firefighters rescued a man from a burning home in north Spokane early Friday morning.
Firefighters responded around 3 a.m. to 4918 N. Nelson St., the department said in a news release. The fire started near the home’s rear exterior and spread inside to the first floor kitchen, second floor and attic.
One man escaped to the roof, where he was rescued by firefighters. A second man inside the home was also uninjured. Damage is estimated at $25,000.
Investigators are still working to determine a cause but said the fire was possibly suspicious.
The Red Cross provided shelter and services to the two men.
This article was changed on May 1, 2015 to correct the address provided in a news release.
