Storm brings fires, false alarm calls
Stormy weather on Aug. 25 contributed greatly to the 230 calls Valley Fire received in the week ending Wednesday.
There were power pole fires at 36th Avenue and Sullivan Road and on Sands Road just outside the district’s boundaries that day. There also were two fires caused by lightning. A tree burned at 32nd and Sullivan and a lightning strike followed by smoke was reported in the Dishman Hills area that was already hit by fire once this summer. “We were all pretty nervous about that one,” said Fire Marshal Kevin Miller. “We ran up there, but we couldn’t find it.”
Two juveniles, ages 7 and 10, also started a small grass fire in the 7700 block of East Sprague Avenue. “We caught those two and counseled them,” Miller said.
The turbulent weather also accounted for five alarm system malfunction calls. “When a storm comes through like that, we get busy.”
One of the more unusual calls included assisting a drunk driver who had driven through some boulders and found the front end of his car dangling over a 6-foot drop into a grassy swale at 15800 E. Fourth Ave., on Aug. 24. The driver, who smelled strongly of alcohol, was not injured and was handed over to police.
The district had only two structure fire calls during the week. A malfunctioning fish aquarium caused a cabinet to catch on fire on Aug. 21, but what could have been a serious fire at Kaiser Aluminum was reported on Aug. 24 when electrical equipment caused a fire.
“When a truck rolls up and finds a building full of smoke, it makes them nervous,” Miller said. The fire had been largely put out by employees with fire extinguishers.
A backhoe dug up a gas line on Aug. 21, and firefighters assisted a disabled man that same day who had fallen out of his wheelchair along Sprague Avenue. A car fire on Aug. 22 in the 11700 block of East Montgomery resulted in heavy damage to the car. Someone had been working on the car just before the engine fire began, Miller said.
The week’s calls included 162 for EMS. There were 17 motor vehicle accidents, most of them resulting in no injuries or minor injuries. Of the four serious accidents, three occurred on Bowdish Road south of Sprague Avenue on Aug. 22 and 23.