House fire discovered, reported by young resident

An 11-year-old boy was blasted with black smoke when he opened the front door of his home earlier this week.

A family friend had taken the boy home to get his skateboard, and the 11-year-old discovered a fire in the upstairs bathroom of his home, said Spokane Valley Fire spokesman Bill Clifford. When the boy saw the flames, he ran back to the car and told the person in the car to call 911.

Firefighters arrived about 3:10 p.m. Monday and were able to contain the fire to the bathroom and a bedroom, Clifford said. However, the home suffered smoke and water damage.

The blaze in the 12400 block of 27th Avenue on Monday was one of six fires the Spokane Valley Fire Department responded to between May 3 and 9, Clifford said.

The other fires included a cooking fire in the 23100 block of East Wellesley Avenue on May 5, Clifford said. The residents didn’t have a smoke detector, so firefighters left them one.

Crews went to a garage fire in the 4400 block of East Fifth Avenue, Clifford said. The fire is being investigated as a possible arson.

Spokane Valley Fire responded to a total of 166 calls between May 3 and 9; 127 of those were for emergency medical services. Crews also went to seven fire alarms that turned out to be nothing, five hazardous material calls and 15 vehicle crashes.

Firefighters went out on three service calls during that time, Clifford said. One involved a water leak. Two responses were for children locked in cars. Both vehicles were running with the keys inside, and the children were too young to open the doors for their parents.