Windblown carport hits power lines

The Spokane Valley Fire Department had an uneventful week Feb. 16-Wednesday, despite wind on Wednesday that usually brings an increase in calls. The weather was responsible for only two calls for downed power lines out of the 203 calls received during the week.

But one of those calls involved a carport that blew into some power lines in the Ponderosa neighborhood, said Assistant Fire Marshall Bill Clifford. He said residents should try to tie down items that might blow away. “A lot of people don’t think about that,” he said.

An engine compartment fire was reported in a parking lot in the 8500 block of East Trent Avenue. “It sounds like it might have totaled the vehicle,” Clifford said. A brush fire was reported in the 2400 block of North Cherry Lane, but it turned out to be an abandoned camp fire likely started by transients, he said.

The department’s arson dog, Mako, was sent to the scene of a mansion fire in Post Falls early in the week, Clifford said. Samples were collected in the areas Mako identified. “They’ll send them to the crime lab to figure out what it is,” Clifford said.

Crews were called for a leaking gas tank on a car in the Albertsons parking lot at Trent Avenue and Argonne Road. “They just applied some absorbent and I believe the vehicle was towed away,” Clifford said.

There were 17 car accidents reported during the week that sent six people to the hospital. Crews responded to 172 EMS calls.