Tour Commander, 509.625.7100
Thursday, April 7, 2022 at 4:03 p.m.
This afternoon at 12:55 PM, a first alarm was dispatched to a high-rise fire at 217 West Spokane Falls Boulevard in downtown Spokane.
Multiple 911 calls were received in rapid succession prompting a quick dispatch of firefighters to the 20-story, 185 unit, Park Place Tower Apartment Building. Smoke could be seen two blocks away at SFD Headquarters. As companies were en route, radio reports from FireComm conveyed a working fire on an upper floor with civilians calling for help.
As companies approached, they found heavy smoke showing from an exterior window of a unit located on the 9th floor. Several residents were at their windows and decks calling for help as firefighters positioned ladder companies to access those immediately needing assistance. Firefighters carried hundreds of feet of hose, tools, air bottles, and necessary firefighting equipment up the nine flights of stairs to extinguish the fire. Eventually, firefighters climbed all 20 floors to confine the fire, search for residents in need, and control the building's utilities.
The resident from the unit predominately consumed by fire was rescued by firefighters and removed via Tower 1 from the building's exterior. Three other residents were treated and transported to definitive care. Throughout the incident, countless occupants were assisted by firefighters, many needing assistance exiting through evacuation stairwells or simply ambulating to a safe refuge.
Flames destroyed one unit and caused slight damage to the floor of origin due to the smoke. Over 70 firefighters extinguished the blaze in just 30 minutes. The 185-unit apartment complex was equipped with hard-wired smoke alarms and fire doors but not automatic sprinklers.
Firefighters remained on the scene for two hours, protecting the homeowners' belongings from additional damage during the salvage and overhaul operations. The fire's cause and origin are under investigation by SFD.
