Fire Starts In Apartment Kitchen

A Spokane family was displaced from their apartment Christmas Day after a fire started in their kitchen, firefighters said.

Firefighters responded to an alarm at 708 S. Maple about 4:30 p.m. When they arrived, the apartment of William Belieu and Christine Longtin was filled with smoke, firefighters said.

The couple and a 7-year-old boy were not home at the time. Firefighters rescued a dog that was chained in the burning kitchen. The dog appeared in good health late Thursday, firefighters said.

Two burners on the stove had been left on, igniting plastic containers on the stove, firefighters said.

The battery in the apartment’s smoke detector had been removed. Firefighters said it is likely the detector would have alerted neighbors sooner, possibly preventing major damage to the apartment.

, DataTimes