Spokane Valley Fire roundup: Crews rescue worker who fell into grain elevator
The Spokane Valley Fire Department conducted a technical rescue last week to rescue a worker in a grain elevator who had fallen 19 feet, injuring his leg and arm.
Crews were called to East Alki Avenue and North Fancher Road at 1:20 p.m. Feb. 22. The man had been preparing to receive a grain shipment and fell off a ladder into an underground pit used for machinery to load and unload grain trucks, said department spokeswoman Julie Happy.
The rescue team, aided by the Spokane Fire Department technical rescue team, lowered an air monitor into the pit as a safety precaution while working to pull the man out. All nearby equipment was shut down so the man could be strapped to a backboard and pulled out of the pit. The rescue took about 30 minutes and the man was taken to a local hospital to be treated for injuries that were not life-threatening , Happy said.
The department’s technical rescue team regularly trains for confined space rescues and also performs rescues on steep hillsides and in other dangerous situations.
Other calls Feb. 22-28
Feb. 23: An apartment fire was reported in the 12200 block of East Maxwell Avenue at 12:29 p.m. Crews found a burner on the stove set on high, with the burner and the stovetop covered with a variety of combustible items that had caught on fire. The apartment resident was taken to a local hospital for treatment. Barking dogs helped save a sleeping woman from an oven fire in the area of South Collins Road and East Saltese Road at 11:31 p.m. The woman told crews her smoke alarm and her dogs woke her, and she saw fire in the oven. Crews noted that fire was out, but the oven had burn marks and was making an odd humming noise. Power to the appliance was shut off and the humming noise stopped.
Feb. 24: An engine crew driving to a training session spotted a large column of smoke in the 5100 block of North Del Rey Drive at 11:05 p.m. The smoke was coming from an illegal slash pile fire. The pile was very large, and the property owner used a backhoe to spread the pile out so the crew could extinguish it.
Feb. 25: A possible electrical fire was reported in a home in the 10900 block of East Augusta Avenue at 7:08 a.m. Firefighters investigated and found a hot furnace with a clogged filter. The temperature of the furnace dropped once the filter was changed. There was no fire.
Feb. 26: A possible illegal fire was reported in the 200 block of South Ashton Street at 8:44 a.m. Crews found an old washing machine in the backyard full of smoldering wet pine needles and cardboard. The property owner said he didn’t know who had started the fire. A vehicle fire was reported in the back parking lot of the Blue Dolphin at 11:22 a.m. A Suburban was on fire next to a row of storage containers. The fire was put out before it spread to the storage containers. A child was reported to be locked inside a vehicle with its engine running in the 9600 block of East Sprague Avenue at 12:50 p.m. The child was in the driver’s seat pretending to drive, so firefighters put blocks in front of the tires before gaining access to the vehicle. An RV fire was reported in the 9200 block of East Montgomery Avenue at 3:56 p.m. The driver said he had used a fire extinguisher to put out an engine fire. A can was being used to fuel the carburetor and the vehicle was in poor condition and not legal for road use. The driver was uncooperative and the sheriff’s office was called.
By the numbers: Crews responded to 356 calls the week of Feb. 22-28, including 294 calls for emergency medical services. Other calls included 18 car crashes, smoke from a fire that turned out to be steam from a dryer vent and a smoking electrical outlet.