Burning letter sets duplex on fire in East Central early Sunday morning

Spokane Fire Department crews extinguished a blaze in the East Central neighborhood after receiving a report of a bedroom fire in a duplex just after midnight on Sunday.

Firefighters arrived at 403 S. Pittsburgh St., across from Liberty Park, in about six minutes and saw smoke and flames coming from a bedroom at the back of the building, according to a release from the Spokane Fire Department. Firefighters prevented the fire from spreading from the bedroom, but the duplex sustained fire damage to the bedroom and smoke damage throughout the building, the release said.

The fire started when one of the building’s residents burned a letter in her bedroom, which rapidly spread, department investigators discovered.

The Red Cross provided lodging for five of the displaced residents. There were no injuries among residents or firefighters, the department said.

The building, valued at about $400,000, sustained about $50,000 worth of damage, according to the fire department.