18 accidents, 15 structure fires among week’s worth of calls

Spokane Valley firefighters had only to walk behind their main station for one of 228 calls in the seven days that ended Wednesday.

Firefighters went to Balfour Park, behind Station 1 at 10319 E. Sprague Ave., about 7 p.m. last Saturday when someone walked into the station to report transients were harassing children in the park.

Deputy Fire Marshal Bill Clifford said two transients in a vacant lot next to the park told firefighters they hadn’t done anything wrong. Firefighters called police, and the transients left the area, Clifford said.

Two other calls for general service involved a more familiar children’s issue: being accidentally locked inside a car.

Also, there were 25 middle and high school students in an East Valley School District bus that was struck by a pickup about 3:40 p.m. on Sept. 18. Firefighters found no one injured in the bus or the pickup.

Assistant Superintendent Jan Beauchamp said the bus had stopped near the corner of Trent Avenue and Woodlawn Drive and had its red lights flashing when the pickup struck the right-rear corner.

Damage to the bus was limited to its exhaust system, but Beauchamp said the vehicle had to be inspected by the Washington State Patrol before it could be put back in service.

“There was no fault on the part of our driver,” she said.

Clifford said the accident was among 18 to which firefighters responded. Seven people in the other vehicle crashes were taken to hospitals with moderate injuries.

Fifteen reports of structure fires included one that caused an estimated $125,000 damage to a house last Saturday morning at 1826 N. Salmon River Lane. Clifford said the fire started in an attached garage and spread to the attic.

No one was injured, and the cause was undetermined.

Then, on Sunday morning, there was a close call in an apartment at 2820 N. Cherry St.

Clifford said a resident had been cooking sausage when a power outage occurred. The family went out for breakfast without turning off the stove.

When the power was restored, the sausage was incinerated.

Clifford said six of the reported structure fires involved dust-covered electric lines that shorted when rain dampened the dust.

One of four hazardous-materials calls occurred last Saturday morning when a backhoe operator dug up a gas line at 1220 S. Mica Park Drive. Firefighters helped an Avista crew shut off the gas without incident.

Three other hazmat calls were for odors that firefighters couldn’t detect when they arrived.

Clifford said firefighters doused two illegal recreational fires, an unattended transient-camp fire and remnants of another camp fire. A ban on outdoor burning remains in effect, he said.

Two vehicle fires were reported, but one was just steam.

Fifteen alarm system calls were false or minor problems, Clifford said.

As usual, most calls – 172 – were for emergency medical service.