Spokane Valley fire roundup: Cooking fires cause headaches for residents
Food left unattended on stoves started two fires in Spokane Valley recently, but the fires were noticed quickly and put out without causing much damage.
Light smoke was spotted coming from a window in a senior-living facility in the 100 block of South Tschirley Road the morning of Sept. 5. Firefighters could not get anyone to come to the door and broke in, finding nobody home and a pot of food on fire, said Melanie Rose, Spokane Valley Fire Department spokeswoman.
A resident in an apartment in the 700 block of North Argonne Road put a pot of spaghetti on the stove and fell asleep Sept. 8. Someone noticed smoke about 9 p.m. and called 911.
The resident was found unconscious on the couch, Rose said, but recovered enough to refuse a ride to the hospital. His smoke detector was not working. The fire did not spread from the stove.
Other calls from
Aug. 29 to Sept. 11
Aug. 30: A possible natural gas leak was reported inside a home in the 1800 block of South Fawn Drive.
Sept. 1: Crews responded to a fatal collision on westbound Interstate 90 under the Harvard Road overpass at Liberty Lake.
Sept. 2: A power line blowing in the wind was reportedly arcing near the intersection of Appleway Avenue and Barker Road. Crews blocked the road until Avista crews arrived to take care of the problem.
Sept. 10: An illegal recreational fire was reported in the 24700 of West Wellesley Avenue. The fire was out when crews arrived, and the residents were informed of the current burn ban. Crews were called to the 200 block of South Park Road for a smoking car that had been involved in a high-speed chase with police.
Sept. 11: A bystander called 911 after finding a boy pulling a burning pile of debris from a garage in the 3300 block of South University Road. An investigation determined the boy lit the fire while playing with a lighter. A caller reported water flowing from a vacant building in the 12100 block of East Sprague Avenue. Crews found an overflowing toilet that had been running long enough to start a flow out of the building.
By the numbers: Crews responded to 641 calls in the two weeks from Aug. 29 to Sept. 11, including 509 calls for emergency medical service. Other responses included 42 car crashes, a child locked inside a car, a dog locked inside a car, a dog and a child locked inside a car and a man who needed help retrieving his wallet from the roof of an apartment building after he threw it at a cat.