Air conditioner fire among emergency calls

The Spokane Valley Fire Department responded to the following calls between June 26 and July 2:

A flaming air conditioner heated things up at an apartment complex at 10409 E. Main Ave. on July 1. Renters seeking a little relief from the heat fired up the wall-unit shortly before 7:30 a.m., but got the exact opposite effect, according to the Fire Department. Flames raced up an outside wall and into an attic area, causing $5,000 in damage. Firefighters responded quickly to the apartment complex, which is only two blocks north of Spokane Valley Fire’s main station on Sprague Avenue.

Also on July 1, a young man bringing his girlfriend home from a date noticed smoke coming from a roof in the 11900 block of East 13th Avenue. The man called for the Fire Department at 12:41 a.m. Firefighters determined no one was inside the building and put out the fire.

On June 28, crews at Waste Management notice smoke coming from the back of one of the company’s trucks. Garbage in the vehicle had caught fire, forcing the crew to dump the load on the ground, where firefighters put it out.

There were six brush fires during the last week, mostly near roadsides. Wildfire danger is currently high and firefighters are advising people to be extremely careful outdoors.

Firefighters responded to two instances of people trapped inside storage shed compounds after 10 p.m. In both cases, the gates to the storage compounds were locked for the evening before customers could get out.

There were 218 calls for service, of which 176 were for medical emergencies.