Passerby tosses burning rags from restaurant

Throwing the burning debris outside the building is one way to prevent a major blaze.

That’s what one man did in Spokane Valley last week, which saved the CHKN-N-MO at 11808 E. Sprague Ave.

“He’s a hero,” said restaurant owner Bob Hemphill, who knows the guy only by his first name, Eric. “I don’t know if anyone would have done that. I’ve got to take him out to dinner or something. He saved us a lot of headaches.”

Spokane Valley assistant fire chief Dave Lobdell said the man was driving by the restaurant about 8:50 p.m. on June 16 when he saw a glow coming from inside the building and stopped.

The man broke out a window to get inside the restaurant, Lobdell said. Once he was in, he used water from the bathroom to put out the oily rags that investigators suspect spontaneously combusted. When that didn’t work, the man threw the flaming rags outside, and a neighboring restaurant owner helped douse the fire with a high pressure hose.

Lobdell said the restaurant fire was one of six between June 13 and 19. The other fires included two car engine flare-ups, and a motorized cart that caught fire inside a building.

Spokane Valley Fire Department responded to 220 calls during the seven-day period, including 166 emergency medical calls, 13 crashes, 19 fire alarms sounding and nine service calls.

Seven patients were transported after being involved in vehicle crashes, Lobdell said. Two of the crashes involved motorcyclists.

A thunderstorm that blew through on June 13 set off five false fire alarms in a period of 20 minutes, Lobdell said. One false alarm was set off by a flooding toilet. The water shorted out wiring and set it off.

Firefighters also assisted the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office with a water rescue near 12100 E. Upriver Drive, Lobdell said. About 7:50 p.m. on Sunday, a man was in the Spokane River holding onto bushes and yelling for help.