Abandoned house along Bloomsday route burns from suspected transient warming fire

A suspected transient lit a fire in an abandon house Thursday in west Spokane. No one was injured.

The fire started at about 4 p.m. in the two-story house, at 3407 W. Government Way, and the whole house was impacted by smoke damage, said Spokane Fire Battalion Chief Darin Neiwert. No one was in the house during the fire.

It’s the second time the house has ignited from a warming fire from transients in the past couple years, Niewert said.

“It looks like they were living in there for quite some time,” he said.

The property is owned by Roen Properties LLC, which bought it in 2009, according to county records.