Fire department responds to 167 calls

It was a comparatively quiet week at Valley Fire.

Calls for emergency service totaled 167 between Feb 6. and Monday, said department spokesman Bill Clifford.

By comparison, there were 186 calls at this time last month, many due to weather.

Recently, firefighters were called to five structure fires. The most serious was a fire in the walls of a house in the 14300 block of East 32nd Avenue. The occupants made it out safely, but a later investigation estimated the damage from the fire at $30,000, Clifford said. Firefighters believe it started from aging wires sparking inside the walls.

There were 10 other fire alarms, all false or minor.

Of nine vehicle accidents, four required trips to the hospital for nonlife-threatening injuries, Clifford said.

There were also a lockout and a hazardous materials response for a propane smell that didn’t turn out to be dangerous, Clifford said.