Spokane Valley fire roundup: Potting soil blazes spread to homes
Cigarettes discarded into potted plants started two fires in the Spokane Valley area the week of June 22-28, one of them a two-alarm blaze that destroyed a home.
Potting soil, which is not regular dirt, is actually quite flammable, said Spokane Valley Fire Department spokeswoman Melanie Rose.
Both fires were reported on June 26. The first was reported in the 2000 block of North Sergeant Road by a passer-by just before 8 a.m. A fire was burning on the front porch and the man grabbed a garden hose and attempted to put it out while the elderly resident escaped out the back door, Rose said.
A visiting friend had tried to extinguish a cigarette in a planter box on the porch as he was leaving the night before. It smoldered all night before erupting into flame, Rose said.
The quick action by the passer-by limited the damage. “It could have been a lot worse,” she said.
A two-alarm fire was reported around 6 p.m. at 6819 S. South Meadows Road, just inside Spokane County Fire District 8. The home sustained about $200,000 in damage, Rose said. The cause was traced to an ashtray that was emptied into a potted plant on the back deck of the split-level home.
Other calls from June 22-28
June 24: A propane barbecue on an apartment balcony caught fire at 12422 E. Mansfield. The resident spotted the fire and was able to put most of it out before firefighters arrived.
June 25: A falling Comcast line hit and broke a car’s rear window in the 16800 block of East Broadway Avenue.
June 27: A resident in the 11800 block of East 32nd Street reported that the television caught fire while it was on.
June 28: Firefighters thought an outbuilding was on fire in the 5600 block of North Otto Lane, but it turned out to be a large doghouse. The fire began when venting fumes from several plastic gas cans left in the sun somehow ignited.
By the numbers: Crews responded to 358 calls from June 22-28, including 277 calls for medical services. Other responses included illegal outdoor fires, eight brush fires, 21 car accidents, a gasoline spill at a gas station and two people locked inside vehicles.