Fire Press Release

House Fire Indian Trail Neighborhood

Incident #: 2011017928 Date of Incident: 5/9/2011 Issuing Officer: Craig Cornelius / Battalion Chief

Narrative:
The Spokane City Fire Department dispatched fire fighting crews to 4329 W. Arrowhead Rd. at 16:59 hours on Monday, May 9th, 2011. Fire Dispatch forwarded to the responding companies that there was fire and visible flames in the home's mechanical room. Engine 17 from the neighborhood fire station located at Lowell and Indian Trail arrived within 4 minutes of being dispatched. Engine 17's crew under the direction of Lt. Jeff Hager reported that they had a basement fire in a single family residential home. Lt. Hager and his crew donned their Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) and immediately advanced a charged hose line through the garage to the back entry door. Other responding fire companies were assigned to help in moving the hose while Engine 17 advanced down the interior stairs into the basement. Additional hose lines were stretched to provide protection for the attack crew, and to secure a water supply from a near by fire hydrant. The owner of the home, who was present when the fire started, had attempted to extinguish the growing fire and burned portions of his hands and face in the process. Assistant Chief Brian Schaeffer who lives in the Indian Trail neighborhood arrived shortly after the first arriving fire crews. Chief Schaeffer made contact with the home owner and assisted in providing medical care for his burns and smoke inhalation. The home owner was transported to a local hospital for additional treatment. The fire itself was quickly knocked down and confined to a portion of the basement by the fast aggressive action taken by Engine 17's crew. The fire cause is still being investigated at this time, but appears to be accidental in nature.

Cause:
Fire cause is still under investigation.

Damage:
Fire damage was confined to the basement.

# Firefighters Repsonding: 26

Dollar Loss: $20000

End Of Release For more information on this release please call (509) 625-7002