Spokane Valley Fire roundup: Pedestrian suffers minor injury after colliding with fire engine

A slow-moving Spokane Valley Fire Department engine was involved in a collision with a pedestrian the morning of Nov. 30, but the pedestrian had only a minor injury.

The crew of Valley Engine 6 was responding to a call and driving slowly on snow-covered roads on East Broadway Avenue near Farr Road at 9:20 a.m. The engine was going about 15 miles per hour when they saw a pedestrian stepping out from behind a tractor-trailer parked in the center turn lane, said department spokeswoman Julie Happy.

The crew reported that the man’s head was down and he didn’t look up as he stepped into their lane, Happy said. They said there was no time to react before the man collided with the driver’s side of the engine. The man wasn’t knocked off his feet and walked off the road on his own. The crew evaluated him and found a small cut on his forearm, Happy said.

A Spokane County Sheriff’s Deputy was called to investigate the scene, Happy said.

Firefighters responded to a two-alarm fire at the Inland Empire Paper Co. on North Argonne Road at 7:03 p.m. on Dec. 2 and found employees doing their best to battle the flames when they arrived.

There was an active fire inside a newsprint recycling shredder in the southeast portion of the paper mill complex, said spokesperson Don Kresse. Employees and firefighters worked together to shut down high voltage power in the area of the fire so water could be used to douse the flames.

Damage was confined to the shredder and the immediate area surrounding it, Kresse said. No one was injured during the fire and the cause is under investigation.

Valley Fire was assisted by crews from the Spokane Fire Department and Spokane County Fire Districts 8 and 9.

Inland Empire Paper Co. is owned by Cowles Co., which also owns The Spokesman-Review.

Other calls, Nov. 30 to Dec. 6

Nov. 30: A camp fire was reported under the Trent overpass in Millwood at 1:56 p.m. The fire had been lit by two homeless people, who put it out when asked. An unattended camp fire was reported in the Dishman-Hills Natural Area above CarMax at 3:01 p.m. No one was in the area, and the fire was put out.

Dec. 1: A car fire was reported on the westbound shoulder of Interstate 90 between Sullivan Road and Barker Road shortly after midnight. The car was fully on fire when crews arrived. A Washington State Patrol trooper told crews that the people in the car had walked down the freeway and then were picked up by another vehicle. The car was consumed by the fire, and no owners were located. No cause for the fire could be determined.

Dec. 2: A newspaper delivery person reported seeing a fire on a hill in the 16500 block of East Wellesley Avenue at 1:54 a.m. Crews found a large, 30-by-30-foot burning pile that appeared to contain garbage, miscellaneous wood and car parts. A person near the fire told crews the fire got away from him but then left.

Dec. 3: A fire was reported on the south side of the Longhorn BBQ restaurant on Argonne Road at 5:29 a.m. The fire was 3 feet from the building on the sidewalk. A person there said he had put out the fire and did not light it, but he had matches and a lighter with him. A possible fire was reported in an apartment building in the 2700 block of North Bowdish Road at 7:36 p.m. The residents reported seeing sparks come from the electric stove and they turned the stove off. The wall and plug-in area behind the stove were hot, and the residents were advised to not use the stove until it was repaired.

Dec. 4: Crews responded to a report of a car striking an ATM machine in the 6600 block of East Sprague Avenue at 11:54 a.m.

By the numbers: Firefighters responded to 383 calls the week of Nov. 30 to Dec. 6, including 318 calls for emergency medical services. Other responses included 15 car crashes, several false alarms, a reported fire that turned out to be a steaming pile of freshly turned compost and a woman who needed help getting a handcuff off her wrist.