Northside Duplex Fire

Tour Commander, 509.625.7100

Monday, December 6, 2021 at 11:09 a.m.

A minute after midnight this morning (12/6/2021), residents of a two-story-duplex called 911, reporting a large volume of smoke coming from the inside of their home. The residence is located in the 2800 block of West Francis, and the Spokane Fire Department (SFD) responded immediately along with Fire District 9's automatic aid engine and ladder company. The caller explained that their electrical system had been flickering previous to recognizing the smoke and believed the electrical system to be involved. Thankfully, five residents, three dogs, and a cat safely exited the home before the SFD's arrival.

The initial companies reported finding heavy smoke coming from the structure's roofline and believed the attic and roof to be heavily consumed by fire. As other companies arrived, they quickly entered the residence to locate the fire and search both units. The fire was extinguished, and a search was completed in less than 10 minutes of the first SFD company's arrival. Structural damage was contained to the attic space already involved in the fire, and some minor loss occurred in one unit's living space. 

Firefighters quickly and safely mitigated the incident with no injuries or loss of life. While one side of the duplex did receive varying levels of damage, the other side remains inhabitable due to the SFD's actions.

?The cause of the fire was determined to be an overloaded electrical circuit.