Fire Damages County Building Prosecutor’S Office At Heart Of Blaze

A fire that apparently started in a prosecutor’s office severely damaged at least one floor of a building owned by Spokane County.

Monday’s fire will disrupt business for several county departments, and may postpone some hearings in small-claims court. Late Monday, some county managers began notifying employees who work in the Broadway Centre Building, 1201 W. Broadway, telling them not to report to work today.

By late Monday, fire inspectors had not yet determined the cause of the fire, which was reported about 7 p.m.

Prosecutor Jim Sweetser said it was too early to know how his department will handle the disruption. Sweetser, who didn’t know whether any computerized court files were destroyed, said the county risks having cases dismissed if it delays trials, even due to a fire.

County risk manager Claude Cox said he planned to allow prosectors into the building this morning to retrieve papers; otherwise, it will be closed.

The damaged building is one of six where Sweetser has employees.

Cox didn’t know whether hearings were scheduled today in the small-claims courtroom on the first floor. That floor also houses a waiting room where children wait while their parents appear in court for domestic violence hearings.

Cox said the county probably will have to rebuild the third floor of the building, which is kitty-corner from the courthouse. In addition to some prosecutors’ offices, that floor houses the county purchasing department.

The fourth floor may need extensive repairs, depending on the condition of beams that support the floor, said Cox. That’s where the community service department has its offices.

Lower floors smell of smoke, and sustained other damage, he said.

The law firm of Quackenbush, Dean, Bailey and Henderson built the Broadway Centre Building in 1969. The county bought the building for $815,000 in 1978.

The building is insured.