Fire destroys North Side home

A young mother was returning from a walk with her 3-month-old twin daughters Monday afternoon when she looked up and saw smoke and a frantic neighbor.

Then 31-year-old Alicia Walker realized the thick black smoke was coming from her house.

“I went to go to Linwood (Elementary) School,” Walker said. “I got down the street when I saw it.”

Flames erupted at 1:41 p.m. from the garage and east side of the home at 516 E. Wedgewood, as Walker and her neighbors looked on.

Family friend Carol Gerrard was driving to a store in the area when she saw the smoke.

“I thought it was too close to Alicia’s, so I told myself, ‘I’ve got to get over there.’ When I pulled up, I couldn’t believe it,” Gerrard said. “The neighbor saw a kid run out the back of the yard just before the fire.”

Spokane Fire Department Battalion Chief Dan Brown said he couldn’t confirm that report, but said that neighbors told firefighters they believed Walker and her daughters were inside.

“It was fully involved when we arrived,” Brown said. “We did a primary and secondary search and didn’t find anyone. We did find a cat. Paramedics administered oxygen for the cat.”

The family cat, Simon, appeared fine after the procedure. Wrapped in a blanket, Simon flexed his paws as Walker cried and stroked the cat.

The fire torched the garage and adjoining house. The fire burned so hot it singed a large portion of the front yard. The blaze in the garage caught the family’s 2002 Dodge Caravan on fire, destroying the front end.

Brown said the fire started at or near the garage but couldn’t determine whether the fire started inside or outside the structure. Fire investigator Capt. Mike Zambryski was on the scene but had just started his work Monday afternoon.

“It was a pretty quick knockdown, considering the amount of fire we had,” Brown said. “The crews did a hell of a job. It was out in about four or five minutes.”

Walker’s husband, 33-year-old Patrick Walker, arrived later at the scene to see the destruction.

“It just blows me away,” he said as he looked into the smoldering wreckage. “I’m just glad they weren’t home.”