Pair of fires near Corbin Park suspicious

The Spokane Fire Department responded to two suspicious fires Thursday morning at homes a block apart near Corbin Park.

The first call came in just after 2 a.m. at 206 W. Waverly Place. It appeared that someone opened the door to a garden shed and threw in a flare, Fire Investigator Lt. Chris Phillips said.

“There was very minimal damage,” he said of the fire inside the shed attached to the east side of the house on Waverly.

Then about 3:30 a.m., fire crews responded a block away to 312 W. Cleveland Ave. where a garage was engulfed in flames, Phillips said.

The home’s renter, Mike Yeaw, said his wife woke up at about 4:15 a.m. and saw the flashing lights from the firetrucks.

“She looked out and saw about a dozen firemen out here in our back yard,” Yeaw said.

The fire appeared to have started inside the garage.

Firefighters took off the detached garage’s metal roof to get at the fire, which was burning old wooden shingles.

The blaze destroyed most of the garage and Yeaw’s 1986 Dodge pickup.

“That was my only form of transportation,” said Yeaw, who did not have renter’s insurance. “It’s a pretty rude awakening.”

The firefighters at the scene said they believe the blaze was arson, Yeaw said.

Phillips agreed.

“Given the proximity of the first fire, it certainly does seem suspicious,” Phillips said.

“The neighbor next door informed me that their garage door was ajar, as was the gate to their back yard.

“So, it appears we had someone prowling the back yards.”

Phillips urged residents in the area to lock doors to their garages and homes. “Especially those with alleys behind them,” he said.