Early morning fire kills child, injures mother in Spokane Valley

A girl is dead and her mother injured following a house fire in Spokane Valley early Sunday morning.

Spokane Valley Fire Department firefighters were called to a fire at 10410 E. Springfield Ave. at about 3 a.m. They received reports of a person possibly trapped in the basement, according to a fire department news release.

Spokane County sheriff’s deputies attempted to enter the basement and rescue the girl, but were stopped by “severe heat and smoke and forced to retreat the residence,” the news release said.

Minutes later, the fire was upgraded and additional resources were brought in. Multiple fire crews entered the structure and found the girl dead in the basement, according to the release.

The fire was put out shortly after.

“The home is pretty intact,” said Melanie Rose, Spokane Valley Fire Department spokeswoman. “It didn’t take long to put the fire out once we got there.”

The girl’s mother was taken to a local hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries related to smoke inhalation, Rose said.

Rose said three adults and six children were living in the single-family home with a main floor and a basement, though many of the children were out of the house at a sleepover when the fire started. None of the other occupants was injured.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

There was a working smoke detector in the home, Rose said.