Recent fire calls include two garage blazes, 18 crashes

The Spokane Valley Fire Department had an average amount of calls between Dec. 27 and Jan. 2.

Firefighters responded to six fires, said an assistant chief David Lobdell. Two were in garages attached to homes.

On Dec. 27, an overloaded extension cord caused a blaze, Lobdell said. Fire crews responded about 9:12 p.m. and were able to contain the fire to the garage. The estimated damage was $3,000.

The garage fire on Friday was caused by box of ashes that hadn’t cooled yet, Lobdell said. The blaze did not result in any significant damage.

The other fires involved a chimney and a plastic fuel container, but both were small, Lobdell said. The first fire of the year was a power pole blaze that burned out before crews arrived.

Fire crews responded to 18 motor vehicle crashes, people were transported to the hospital from eight of them, Lobdell said. But another crash required a transport of a different sort. A 17-year-old girl was taken to Spokane County Jail. The teen ran into a power pole. She was assaulting a Washington State Patrol officer when firefighters arrived and helped subdue her.

Spokane Valley firefighters also responded to seven service calls involving downed power lines, unauthorized burns, water problems and smoke odors, Lobdell said. Crews went on 126 emergency medical calls, seven false alarms and five good intent calls.