Fire roundup: Homeowner tries to burn unusual fuel
People often try to burn yard debris, construction debris and trash in Spokane Valley – all of which is illegal – but firefighters found something new when they responded to a backyard fire recently.
Crews were called to the 4700 block of North Lillian Road for an outside fire on Sept. 9. They found a fire pit behind the house that was smoking. In it they found partially burned wood and “multiple pounds” of dog feces, said Spokane Valley Fire Department spokesman Melanie Rose.
No one answered the door when firefighters knocked on it, Rose said.
“We extinguished the fire with the resident’s garden hose,” she said. “They weren’t even home. They started a fire and then left it.”
Other calls
from Sept. 4-17
Sept. 4: A smoke column was reported near the Centennial Trail in the area of 9700 E. Maringo Drive. The small fire was put out quickly.
Sept. 6: A grass fire was reported between the Valley Mission Dog Park and Interstate 90. The fire was in a pile of landscaping debris and was burning up the hill when crews arrived. A suspicious person was seen in the area.
Sept. 7: Crews responded to a fatal motorcycle crash at 26715 E. Appleway Blvd.
Sept. 13: The department’s rescue task force deployed to Freeman High School for a shooting.
Sept. 14: Smoke was reported in a home in the 18100 block of East Cowley Avenue. A rug placed on top of a heating vent caught fire. Damage was limited. A fire was reported at Shamrock Machinery, 5704 E. First Ave., where sparks from a hand-held grinder entered an exhaust fan and ignited the wall.
Sept. 15: A slow moving grass fire was reported along I-90 near Fancher Road.
Sept. 16: Multiple callers reported flames and smoking coming from inside the fenced BNSF rail yard at 2000 N. Dollar Road. Crews had to force open a gate to access the fire burning in a 50-foot shipping container.
Sept. 17: A fire was reported on a balcony at an apartment building at 13507 E. Mission Ave. The fire was burning in a wooden planter when it was spotted. A neighbor used a fire extinguisher on the planter. The fire did not spread to the building.
By the numbers: Crews responded to 655 calls in the two weeks from Sept. 4-17. Responses included 32 car crashes, an employee locked out of a business’ fenced lot and a woman who left her napping child alone in the car because she didn’t want to disturb him.