In brief: Mall closes after power goes out

NorthTown Mall closed early Saturday following a power outage in part of the building.

Several people reported electrical equipment, a power pole and the back fence of a residence on fire about 5:30 p.m. at the corner of Lidgerwood Street and Wellesley Avenue.

An oil-filled transformer there had ignited and firefighters monitored others around the mall that had been smoking, said Deputy Chief Dave Leavenworth.

Inside the building, lights were out in Sears, JC Penney and a handful of other stores. Shoppers were asked to evacuate at about 7 p.m.

Firefighters freed two people stuck in an elevator at one store without power, Leavenworth said.

Avista crews were still fixing the problem Saturday night, and power to nearby homes did not appear to be affected, said utility spokeswoman Laurine Jue.

Two malfunctioning transformers and damage to an underground vault beneath the flaming power pole contributed to one of three power feeds to the mall going down, she said.

Two injured in apartment fire

One woman and one firefighter were injured in an early morning blaze at a 14-unit apartment building at 1405 E. 30th Avenue.

Six companies of Spokane firefighters responded to the two-alarm structure fire at 3:20 a.m. Saturday.

A tenant of the unit where the fire started was taken to Sacred Heart Hospital with second degree burns and smoke inhalation, according to Assistant Chief Brian Schaeffer.

The person’s condition remains unknown.

The firefighter fractured a bone and was taken to Deaconess Hospital.

“He has an injury that is going to take him off the line,” Schaeffer said.

Firefighters searched for residents and contained the blaze to the third floor within 45 minutes.

The fire was accidental, Schaeffer said, but remains under investigation.

“It was a probable candle cause,” Schaeffer said.

The building has been evacuated and the Inland Northwest Chapter of the American Red Cross is assisting residents.

Post Falls

Woman found dead on couch

A 30-year-old Spokane woman who spent Friday night visiting a friend she had recently met on the Internet, was found dead Saturday morning at the friend’s Post Falls home, police said.

Heather L. Snyder and her friend had gone to the Goodtimes Tavern in Post Falls on Friday evening, and they later went to a home in the 600 block of North Silkwood in the Woodbridge subdivision, according to a press release from the Post Falls Police Department.

The friend, whose name was not released, told police that Snyder fell asleep on the couch about 1 a.m.

The friend checked on her at 8 a.m. and found she was not breathing, Lt. Scot Haug said in the release.

The friend called 911.

Although the case remains under investigation, preliminary information suggests no foul play.

Police ask that anyone who may have information about this incident to call detectives at (208) 773-3517.