Firefighters Douse Nighttime Blaze At Apartments

No one was injured late Friday when fire caused the evacuation of a six-unit apartment building in the south Spokane Valley.

A man visiting a friend in the neighborhood noticed flames coming from the third floor of an apartment building at 3015 S. Clinton about 11:30 p.m.

Richard Everett raced up to Anna Belknap’s apartment, pounded on her door and told the 24-year-old woman to call the fire department. Belknap, her two children - ages two and three months - and a friend, Stacy Rae McQueen, escaped the apartment unharmed.

Flames were climbing the wall outside Belknap’s apartment and licking at the attic when firefighters arrived, according to Valley Fire reports. The blaze also was burning on Belknap’s balcony.

Eighteen firefighters with eight fire trucks contained the fire to the wall, balcony and part of the attic. All of the occupants of the apartment building were able to return to their units.

Firefighters found cigarette butts in a bucket, a package of cigarettes and a lighter in the corner of Belknap’s balcony most heavily burned by fire, the reports said.

The fire appears to have started accidentally near the bucket, Deputy Fire Marshal Eric Olson wrote in his report. Damage was estimated at $10,000.

Fire burns house

Fire ripped through the attic and roof of a house early Sunday near University City Shopping Center.

Robert Robins, 29, was asleep on the couch when his cat woke him up about 3:40 a.m. He heard a loud popping sound above him and smelled a strong electrical odor.

Robins raced to the back window, saw smoke billowing from the roof and ran to the basement to turn off the power. He then fled the house, which has no phone, and called firefighters from a neighbor’s home.

Flames were shooting 10 feet above the roof when firefighters pulled up at to the house at 311 N. Walnut, according to Valley Fire reports.

Fifteen firefighters with six fire trucks battled the blaze, which was sparked by an electrical failure where the main line feeds into the house.

The fire destroyed two exterior walls, most of the roof, the dining room and the kitchen of the rental home. Damage was estimated at $50,000.

Woman attacked in home

Deputies arrested a 25-year-old man they said broke into a woman’s home Sunday and attacked her.

Shawn C. Hoskins, who gave his address as 12808 E. Sinto, was booked into the Spokane County Jail for residential burglary.

The 22-year-old victim told deputies Hoskins walked into her house through an unlocked door and confronted her while she was talking on the phone.

He hit the woman and broke the phone when she tried to call police, deputies said.

Hoskins fled the woman’s home before deputies arrived, said deputy David Reagan. However, the woman identified Hoskins as a former acquaintance, and he was later arrested at a relative’s house.

Taxi customer arrested on theft, drug charges

A woman accused of riding in a taxi cab and not paying her fare was arrested Sunday for theft and later drug charges after deputies said they found cocaine in her pockets.

Dina M. Bergland, 34, who gave her address as 3020 S. Clinton, was booked into jail for third-degree theft, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Deputies who arrested Bergland said she was unable to pay her cab fare after a taxi driver took her to several different locations.

A deputy who searched Bergland following her arrest found white rocks tucked in her clothing that were tentatively identified as cocaine, Reagan said. He also found a silver pipe which appeared to contain drug residue, Reagan said.

Traffic stop ends in drug charges

A 36-year-old Spokane man was arrested on drug charges Monday after deputies who stopped him for a traffic violation said they found methamphetamine in his car.

Samuel F. McNeal was arrested for possession of a controlled substance.

Deputies stopped his car in the 7200 block of East Trent. They discovered that McNeal’s license was suspended and he was wanted on an outstanding misdemeanor arrest warrant.

McNeal was arrested and deputies searched his car, finding methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, Reagan said.

, DataTimes