Heat tape was the culprit in a fire on Jan. 30 that sent some bushes up in flames but only singed the house in the 24000 block of East Tum Tum Drive in Liberty Lake.

The home had rain gutters that drained into a PVC pipe to direct water away from the home’s foundation and the homeowner had put heat tape inside the pipe to keep it from freezing, said Spokane Valley Fire assistant fire marshal Bill Clifford. Some excess tape was bundled up at the end of the pipe and eventually the pipe and some nearby wood caught on fire, which in turn caught the bushes on fire. “It was detected soon enough that the damage wasn’t extensive,” Clifford said.

Every year malfunctioning heat tape causes fires. While it keeps pipes from freezing, homeowners also have to take precautions.

“If people have heat tape on their homes, it should really be inspected at least once a year for deterioration,” Clifford said.

A suspected arsonist apparently tried to burn down a vacant home in the 300 block of North Sargent Road on Jan. 29. The fire department was called about 3:30 p.m. A fire was started in the bedroom and flames traveled up the wall and into the attic. The intentionally set fire caused approximately $50,000 in damage and the homeowner did not have insurance, Clifford said.

Anyone with information on who may have set the fire is asked to call the fire department at (509) 928-1700 or Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.

The rest of the week from Jan. 28 for Feb. 3 was fairly routine, with firefighters responding to 206 calls. Of those, 170 were EMS calls, one involved a fuel spill at a gas station and there were 11 vehicle accidents that sent five people to the hospital with minor injuries. There were 14 fire alarm calls but all were accidental, false or traced back to singed cooking.

Firefighters also responded to the week’s seemingly obligatory call involving a child locked inside a car.