Duplex fire likely sparked by fireworks

Fireworks appear to have caused a fire that put two adults and five children out of their North Spokane home, but no one was injured in the blaze reported at 329 E. Wabash at 11:50 p.m. Friday. When crews arrived they found a fire in bushes on the south side of a duplex with flames beginning to spread into the attic, according to Spokane Fire Department Battalion Chief Joel Fielder in a press release. The fire was out within 30 minutes and firefighters were on scene to help the residents retrieve some belongings. The duplex sustained an estimated $25,000 in damage, mostly to the attic, and the Red Cross is assisting the residents. The cause of the fire is under investigation but fireworks are believed to be the cause, Fielder said. Fireworks are illegal in Spokane and most of Spokane County, but that didn’t stop residents from setting them off to celebrate the Fourth of July. The banned pyrotechnics are believed to have caused several brush fires in Spokane Friday night, according to the fire department, and fifteen tickets were handed out for illegal fireworks. The brush fires were not confined to Spokane. The Airway Heights Fire Department, the Spokane Valley Fire Department and Spokane County Fire District 3 also responded to several brush fires Friday evening.