Explosion destroys duplex; residents unharmed

An explosion that destroyed a duplex was by far the Spokane Valley Fire Department’s biggest call among 215 in the reporting period that ended Wednesday night.

One half of the duplex, at 920 S. Dickey Road, was blown and burned away and the other half apparently was damaged beyond repair.

Some belongings were saved, but “we believe that the structure itself is a total loss,” Deputy Fire Marshal Bill Clifford said.

Fire investigators estimated the loss at $150,000.

The explosion occurred shortly after 5 p.m. when one of the occupants reattached a disconnected battery cable on a car that had been leaking gasoline.

Mike Mallory said the garage walls blew away from him, but the force of the explosion didn’t even knock him down. His wife and two grandchildren also escaped unharmed.

“He got pretty lucky,” Clifford said. “Obviously, the force of the explosion was directed away from him.”

The only injury was to a firefighter who slipped on ice and dislocated his shoulder. Clifford said the firefighter was still recuperating this week.

In another of eight reports of structure fires, an 11-year-old boy set a fire in the Opportunity Christian Church, 708 N. Pines Road, during a service last Sunday morning.

Clifford said worshippers had to evacuate the building, which sustained an estimated $12,000 in water damage from a fire sprinkler that was activated.

“We’ll be in contact with the parents,” Clifford said. “We hope they will bring him in so we can talk with him.”

Fire officials want the boy to go through their educational program for juveniles who set fires.

Clifford said the boy had gone to a basement storage area in search of paper for a project when he found some matches in a drawer and ignited a curtain.

Nineteen vehicle accidents sent five people to hospitals with neck and back pain and other injuries that weren’t life-threatening.

One of three vehicle fires started as a traffic accident. Clifford said a pickup ran off the road about 2 a.m. Sunday, breaking through a guardrail and going over some landscaping and boulders before coming to rest in a yard at 8222 E. Mission Ave.

Firefighters found the truck engulfed in flames when they arrived. Two occupants with minor injuries were kneeling on the lawn.

Clifford said firefighters were told the passenger had pulled the driver out of the vehicle, but the circumstances weren’t clear. He said the two men were listed as “AOB” – alcohol on breath – and Spokane Valley police were called to sort out the details.

The fire department also responded to 173 calls for emergency medical service, 19 false or food-caused automatic alarms and one leaking water main.

Firefighters called the Consolidated Water District to fix the leaky main at 18215 E. Indiana Ave. about 12:20 a.m. last Saturday.