Small Fire Interrupts Hoopfest Straw In Bennett Block Ignited

A small fire Saturday afternoon couldn’t slow down the country’s largest 3-on-3 basketball tournament for long.

Hoopfest participants and spectators saw smoke pouring from the third floor of the Bennett Block, at Main and Howard, about 4:45 p.m.

Basketball action was postponed for about an hour.

Police and firefighters tore down plastic festival fencing so seven fire trucks could get to the scene.

The fire was controlled within minutes, said Fire Department Battalion Chief Al Green.

No evacuations were necessary, and there were no injuries, fire officials said.

Firefighters entered the smoking building through an open second-story window. After dousing the fire, they ventilated the third floor by opening skylights, Green said.

He said a pile of straw on the vacant third floor caught fire. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.

Smoke was visible to thousands of people on the streets. Others poured out of smoke-filled skywalks.

Fire damage was minimal, Green said. There was water damage to all three floors of the building from the sprinkler system, and smoke damage to the second and third floors, he said.

After extinguishing the fire, firefighters used axes to smash the glass front door of Spokane Exercise Equipment and Sales at 530 W. Main to reach a fire main and turn off the sprinklers, Green said.

The store is owned by Gary Pettigrew, who usually closes his business for Hoopfest.

Pettigrew said he learned of the fire and water damage just after 8 p.m. “I haven’t seen it,” he said. “I don’t know the details and I’m not going to deal with it until Monday morning.”

Six basketball courts were affected and teams were moved to nearby courts after the delay.

Tournament co-founder Rick Betts said games were played late Saturday to keep today’s schedule.

“It’s really not a big deal,” Betts said. “It’s just part of the Hoopfest ambiance to see fire trucks roar in here. It adds to the excitement.”

“We all smelled smoke,” said Hoopfest participant Patti Schneider of Spokane. “But I didn’t even look up because I was playing.”

Schneider’s Pseudosonics led the Dependable Sisters 8-4 in the women’s 35-40 division on one of the Dairy Farmers of Washington courts when their game was disrupted.

Court monitor Randy Gardner has been officiating at Hoopfest for eight years and said this was the strangest thing he’s seen. He was refereeing Schneider’s game.

“I’ve seen asthma attacks, fist fights and twisted knees and ankles, but never a fire,” Gardner said. “This is the most bizarre.”

Staff writer Kathy Mulady contributed to this report.