Man fails to notice fire alarm, firefighters respond anyway
Normally when a fire alarm goes off firefighters arrive to find homeowners outside pointing them toward whatever is smoking or on fire. But on a recent day, crews arrived at a home in the 4000 block of East Sixth Avenue to see the resident quietly sitting in the living room watching television, said Spokane Valley Fire Department spokesman Melanie Rose.
The elderly man had not heard his alarm sounding and also hadn’t noticed a haze of smoke in the home, Rose said. Firefighters located a smoking greasy cast iron pan on the man’s stove.
“The resident agreed to wear his hearing aid and his glasses,” Rose said. “It was good that he had an automatic alarm.”
Other calls from Nov. 28-Dec. 4
Nov. 28: A fire was reported on a third floor balcony in an apartment building at 15821 E. Fourth Ave. at 2:48 a.m. One apartment was destroyed and four others had smoke and/or water damage. The cause was traced to a space heater placed on the balcony. A couch also on the balcony helped fuel the fire.
Dec. 2: A fire was reported in an apartment building at 12400 E. Broadway Ave. A smoldering chair was located in a second floor unit. The resident reported that a candle had fallen on it and started the chair on fire.
Dec. 3: An illegal trash fire was reported in the 10700 block of East 10th Lane. The homeowner was burning a large pile of construction debris, which is illegal. The owner put the fire out.
Firefighters responded to a report of a man hit by a train at Trent Avenue and Flora Road around 1:45 p.m. The man was killed.
Dec. 4: Two suspicious port-a-potty fires were reported in the early morning hours. The first was at the Boulder Beach parking lot in the 7300 block of East Upriver Drive just before 6 a.m. The second was reported at 11300 E. Upriver Drive around 7:10 a.m. The second fire was determined to be intentionally set.
A sudden hail storm shortly after 4 p.m. trapped a man on the roof of his mother’s house. He had gone up there to fix a tarp and after the sudden storm blew through he discovered it was too slippery to get down safely. Firefighters used their ladders to help him.
By the numbers: Firefighters responded to 296 calls form Nov. 28 to Dec. 4, including 239 calls for emergency medical services. Other responses included 27 car crashes and a vehicle fire that turned out to be little more than smoke.