Crews extinguish residential fire that displaces one near Mica

Firefighters extinguished a residential fire near Mica on Wednesday morning, fire officials said.

Crews were dispatched at 9:25 a.m. and arrived within three minutes to the 12000 block of U.S. Route 27, Fire District 8 Fire Chief Lonnie Rash said. Fire crews, including ones from Spokane Valley, spotted smoke coming from the home’s attic and garage, and had the fire under control within 15 minutes, he said.

A single person was transported to a local hospital for smoke inhalation and released on Wednesday afternoon, Rash said. Rash did not have an estimate on the cost of the damage but said the home was uninhabitable as of Wednesday.

The freezing cold and the remote location made fire crews’ work more difficult, Rash said.

“This is a rural area, so we had to ensure we had enough water on wheels because it’s not hydranted. We had to bring water tenders in,” he said. “When it’s this cold, it will freeze and make things slick, and that will take a toll on firefighters.”

The cause of the fire is under investigation, Rash said.