Father Burned As Fire Destroys Valley House Two Daughters Escape Flames Uninjured

A 44-year-old Spokane Valley man suffered second-degree burns on his face and arms while trying to put out a fire that swept through his home early Thursday morning.

Neighbors reported hearing an explosion just after 4 a.m. and then heard the man yelling at his daughters to get out of the house. .

Their father, Dennis Parvey, was flown to Harborview Medical Center’s Seattle burn center, where he was listed in satisfactory condition.

The home south of Millwood was destroyed, fire officials said.

Valley fire marshal Paul Chase said the blaze probably started in a motor home parked in the driveway.

Parvey, a self-employed RV repairman, was working on the vehicle when the fire started. He had done some welding that morning, fire investigators said. Beyond that, little is known about what went wrong.

It may be days or weeks, Chase said, before the injured man is able to talk about the fire.

The blaze apparently spread from the motor home to the house’s basement, where Parvey’s older daughter, Vanessa, was sleeping. The 16-year-old woke up and saw smoke and flames inside her room. She called 911 and tried to put out the fire with water. Her father, she said, was outside doing the same with a garden hose.

Despite their efforts, the fire spread quickly and burned every room of the house except a spare bedroom. It also destroyed the motor home. Fire officials estimate the loss at more than $150,000.

The girls’ mother wasn’t home at the time of the fire.

Firefighters sifted through the wet, smoky mess Thursday morning, looking for salvageable possessions. They had been asked to look for one item in particular: Vanessa’s West Valley High School letterman’s jacket.

The teen held out little hope, but firefighters found it, soggy but unburned. The jacket had fallen on the ground and been submerged in a foot of water, firefighters told her. A few minutes later, a relative rushed the coat to be dry-cleaned.

The girls will be staying with an aunt for the next week or so. Their mother flew to Seattle on Thursday to be with Parvey.

A trust fund has been set up to help the family. Donations to the Parvey Family Fund may be made at the Washington Mutual Bank branch at 12005 E. Sprague.