Michele Anderson, Public Safety Communications Manager
Wednesday, March 20, 2019 at 4:03 p.m.
Multiple residents were displaced and a firefighter was transported to the hospital for dehydration after a fire broke out this morning at a downtown apartment building.
At approximately 7:05 a.m., the Spokane Fire Department along with the Spokane Valley Fire Department responded to the 300 block of W. 4th Ave., on a report of a commercial structure fire. Firefighters arrived within minutes after dispatch and reported heavy smoke and flames coming from the first floor of a three-story masonry apartment building.
Fire crews immediately worked to extinguish the fire on the main floor, gained entry into the structure to check for fire extension and conducted a search of the interior to ensure no one was inside. Additional crews accessed the roof to ensure the fire had not spread to the attic space. Due to the amount of fire and complexity of the building a second alarm was called to ensure additional resources responded to mitigate the incident successfully.
The incident involved all three levels of the apartment building with multiple crews on each floor conducting operations. Firefighters were able to contain the fire to three apartments.
There were no reported injuries to civilians. One firefighter was transported to the hospital due to dehydration but was later released.
The cause of the fire is under investigations by the Spokane Fire Department’s Special Investigation Unit.
