Room, Garage Destroyed By Fire

A woman and her children woke to the smell of smoke Thursday morning after an electric heater in a storage room kicked on during the night and set cardboard boxes on fire.

The blaze completely destroyed the storage room and attached garage at 900 S. Nina Circle, said Spokane Valley Fire District investigator Kevin Miller. He estimated the damages at $25,000.

The fire took about 45 minutes to control.

No one was injured in the fire, Miller said.

With the colder weather setting in, people need to check their electric heaters, Miller said.

“People have got to remember that heaters can come on by themselves, especially when it gets down to 45 degrees,” Miller said.

Combustibles, like clothes or cardboard, always be kept at least 18 inches from a heater.