Officials seek woman in connection with Valley apartment fire
The Spokane Valley Fire Department is looking for a woman in connection with a two-alarm fire that destroyed several garages and damaged apartments at 11910 E. Broadway.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but the department has been able to identify that the garage for unit six was the starting point of the fire, said department spokeswoman Melanie Rose.
The fire consumed part of the row of garages and then spread to the apartment building.
The woman was seen coming out of that garage a few hours before the fire on July 27, Rose said. She is described as white with short red hair and wearing a blue tank top and pink cropped sweat pants.
“We’d like very much to talk to her,” Rose said.
The garage for unit six was supposed to be empty but there was some furniture inside, Rose said.
Other calls from July 20 to Aug. 2
July 20: A car burst into flames near Argonne Road and Knox Avenue just after 4 p.m. The woman driving said she heard a bang and saw smoke. She and her daughter made it out safely.
July 22: Flaming garbage promoted a call to the Sunshine Disposal transfer station at 2405 N. University Road. The driver hadn’t realized the trash in his truck was on fire and dumped his load at the site, where fire crews put out the flames.
July 23: A barn fire was reported in the 22000 block of East Rowan. Firefighters discovered flames in the straw covering the stall floors and put it out.
July 23: A fire was reported on the south side of the Spokane River in the area of 12000 E. Coyote Rock Drive. A camp fire was discovered and the people there were told to put it out.
July 24: An accident was reported along eastbound Interstate 90 at the Harvard exit at 10:30 p.m. The car was on its top and the driver had to be extricated.
July 25: A backyard fire in violation of the current burn ban was reported in the 900 block of North Pierce Road at 7:30 a.m. Crews discovered several large piles of debris in the backyard and firefighters have responded to the same address numerous times before for illegal fires. A blazing couch was reported behind the Safeway store in the 14100 block of East Sprague. The flames were beginning to spread to nearby brush when crews arrived. Witnesses said a teenage boy riding a bike had been spotted in the area before the fire.
July 27: A man driving a front loader severed a natural gas line in the 7300 block of East Fourth around 11:30 a.m. The area was evacuated until the line was repaired.
July 29: Neighbors with garden hoses were attempting to put out a grass fire in a vacant lot in the 900 block of North Johnson Road when crews arrived around 10:45 a.m. No buildings were damaged.
Aug. 1: A caller reported two men with a fire in a backyard fire pit in violation of the current burn ban around 12:30 a.m. in the 12200 block of East 24th. The person reported that the men were fanning the flames with a leaf blower to make the fire bigger. When crews arrived they discovered the men trying to put out the fire with the leaf blower nearby.
By the numbers: Firefighters responded to 576 calls from July 20 to Aug. 2, including 30 car accidents and 452 calls for emergency medical services. Other calls included a bicyclist hit by a car, a water leak at the Chester Pool and a horse stuck in a cattle guard in the 12900 block of East Sanson Lane. The horse was rescued before crews arrived.