Three escape burning house

A Spokane Valley home was heavily damaged by a fire Friday evening, displacing at least three people.

The Spokane Valley Fire Department was called to the home at 1819 S. Airpark Drive about 7 p.m. after a passer-by saw smoke and flames coming from the rear of the home.

The homeowners, Ruth Davies and her parents, James and Carolee Nyborg, were all home and inside the house.

“Someone started banging on my door and they were about to give up when I came and answered,” Davies said. “I ran downstairs and got my parents and we all ran out.”

The fire appeared to have started in the attic of the home, said Battalion Chief Warren Kennett. The cause was unknown.

Firefighters saved the family’s bird and a laptop computer on which Davies’ master’s thesis is being stored.

“I don’t know what I would have done if it was lost,” she said.