Apartment fire overnight Sunday in North Spokane displaces 16 tenants

An apparent electrical fire burned two apartments in a 24-unit complex off North Colton Road early Sunday morning, the Spokane Fire Department said in a news release.

The fire was reported around 2 a.m. in the 7000 block of North Colton Street. A fire in a second-floor unit had spread to the apartment above and an attic space, according to the news release. The fire was extinguished within 20 minutes.

Sixteen tenants and four dogs were displaced, but no injuries to occupants or firefighters were reported. The department’s Special Investigation Unit is looking into the cause, but “initial indications point to an electrical problem,” the department said in its news release.

The department urges the public to plug large appliances into wall outlets, not extension cords, to prevent overheating and sparking.