Spokane Valley Fire roundup: Crews stop RV fire before it spread to house
The string of recent RV fires continued last week when a vehicle fire was reported in the area of Campbell Road and Wellesley Avenue at 6:53 a.m. on Sunday. When Spokane Valley Fire Department crews arrived, they found an RV that was fully involved in fire.
The RV was parked next to a house. Crews were able to put out the fire and keep it from spreading, although the siding on the house was melted.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Other calls from March 7-13
March 7: A fire was reported at the Big Trout Lodge Apartments on East Country Vista Drive in Liberty Lake at 12:23 a.m. The 911 caller reported hearing a fire alarm and seeing smoke inside a second-floor apartment. Firefighters forced open the door and found a stove fire, which was put out. An extrication crash was reported on I-90 near the Otis Orchards exit between a car and a semi-truck at 6:06 a.m. Life Flight was called to transport an injured person from the car that went underneath the semi and the helicopter ambulance landed on eastbound I-90. The semi was on top of the car and was tipped at an angle and had to be stabilized before the person could be cut from the car. While the extrication was in progress, there was a rear-ending crash on westbound I-90 near Stateline at 7:09 a.m. Kootenai Fire and Rescue responded to the call. Paramedics with the Rescue Task Force responded to the 21000 block of East Wellesley Avenue at 2:48 p.m. to assist Kootenai County SWAT as they searched for a suspect. The suspect was not found. Medics went on standby in the 900 block of North Malvern Circle at 10:23 p.m. as the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team attempted to negotiate with a man who had allegedly taken his ex-girlfriend and her son hostage. The man was shot by a deputy and was taken to a local hospital for treatment. The hostages were physically unharmed.
March 9: A homeowner in the 9500 block of East Valleyway Avenue called for help at 5:43 p.m., reporting that they were accidentally locked out and a disabled child was alone inside. Firefighters were able to gain access to the house through an unlocked window.
March 10: A vehicle fire was reported in the 6400 block of East Sharp Avenue at 8:45 a.m. The caller reported seeing smoke coming from the roof of a van. Firefighters discovered the van was an abandoned vehicle with a makeshift fireplace inside. Another vehicle fire was reported at 4:14 p.m. near the Evergreen exit on I-90. Crews found a Ford Ranger with an engine compartment fire that was spreading. The fire was put out. The driver was able to exit the vehicle safely. An apartment fire was reported in the 21900 block of East Country Vista Drive at 6:26 p.m. When crews arrived they could not locate a fire. A resident said that he had started his pellet barbecue for the first time this year and it produced a lot of smoke at first.
Friday: A large trash fire was reported in the 4700 block of East Surro Avenue at 7:27 a.m. Crews could see a large column of dark smoke as they approached. When they arrived, they found a trash fire near the edge of the river that was 30 feet in diameter. The area is a homeless camp, but there were no people in the area. Because it was unknown what was burning, crews wore their breathing apparatus while they put out the fire. A natural gas leak was reported in the area of Hawkstone Loop and Country Vista Boulevard at 9:25 a.m. A backhoe had hit and severed a 1 inch natural gas line. Avista was called to shut off the gas.
Saturday: Small fires were reported in the 4300 block of East Sprague at 9:51 a.m. Crews found and put out three transient fires.
Sunday: A 911 caller reported possibly seeing a body in the Spokane River in the area of McMillan Road at 4:10 p.m. The department’s swift water rescue team launched from Harvard Road and determined the item stuck in the river about 10 feet from shore was an empty sleeping bag. The bag was removed so there would be no further calls. A kitchen fire was reported in the 400 block of South Chronicle Road at 5:43 p.m. The fire was put out. A possible illegal fire was reported in the 14100 block of East Desmet at 6:11 p.m. The homeowner was attempting to burn wet yard debris and was advised that doing so was illegal.
By the numbers: Crews responded to 398 calls the week of March 7-13, including 317 calls for emergency medical services. Other calls included 18 car crashes, an abandoned boat that washed up on an island in the Spokane River, an apartment fire alarm triggered by a bad battery in a smoke detector, a fire alarm triggered by burnt food and a suspected house fire that turned out to be steam from a dryer.