Quick work by firefighters stops fire from causing further damage

AC Brian Schaeffer #509-625-7002

Wednesday, August 24, 2016 at 9:26 p.m.

Fire crews prevented a fire from destroying a house and causing further damage to the surrounding area. There were no injuries reported.

Today at 11:37 a.m., the Spokane Fire Department along with Spokane Fire District 9 were dispatched to a heavily involved detached garage fire in the 5600 block of N. D St. Responding fire companies reported a thick black column of smoke visible from several miles away and requested additional resources while still en route.

The first apparatus on scene found a large detached garage fully involved with the fire already spreading to the nearby home. Crews entering the residence discovered the fire had spread to the attic, but were able to rapidly extinguish it stopping further damage. The fire also spread to a small structure in a neighbor’s yard along with a power pole. The power pole had electrical lines dropping into the back yard and across a chain link fence which caused the fence to become electrically charged. Upon arrival, crews from Avista were able to cut power to the lines resulting in several other houses in the neighborhood losing power for a period of time.

The fire caused moderate damage to the home and the garage was a total loss. The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Spokane Fire Department Special Investigation Unit.