Fire at Waste to Energy Plant

Tour Commander, 509.625.7100

Tuesday, April 28, 2020 at 5:13 p.m.

Just before 11:30 am on Tuesday, April 28th, 2020, units from the Spokane Fire Department (SFD) were dispatched to a commercial structure fire at the Waste to Energy Plant, 2900 S Geiger Blvd. SFD dispatchers had received a call from the facility reporting increasing smoke of an unknown origin within the facility. 

SFD crews arrived to find significant smoke conditions at the garbage drop off area as well as on all 4 floors of the facility. SFD crews were eventually able to locate the fire within a very large pile of garbage over 15 feet tall and 30 feet in diameter. It was feared the fire had possibly extended into facility duct work.  Smoky conditions coupled with the large size and atypical layout of the facility posed challenges for firefighters.  Once the exact location of the fire was determined, it was controlled via water from the aerial of a 100' SFD ladder truck working in conjunction with a large overhead crane provided by the facility. The cause of the smoke on the upper floors was a direct result of the garbage fire and ultimately there was no involvement of the duct work. Fire involvement was limited to the garbage pile and never extended to any structural elements of the facility.  

Waste to Energy management and staff were very helpful to firefighters on this incident.  The SFD conducts annual training at the facility due to the many unique challenges it poses. That previous training and the cooperative relationship between the SFD and Waste to Energy proved key to a quick and successful resolution of the incident.