Fire Press Release

South Battalion Single Family House Fire

Incident #: 2012012566
Date of Incident: 3/26/2012
Issuing Officer: Bob Green/Battalion Chief

Narrative:
The Spokane City Fire Dept. dispatched fire fighting crews and their apparatus to 5555 S. Cheney Spokane Road at 23:56 hrs. on Monday, March 26th, for a reported structure fire. The first arriving fire company, L4 from the Browne's Addition neighborhood Fire Station, reported smoke showing from the roof vents and around the metal chimney of a large wood/frame Ranch style residence. They reported also that the residents of the home had safely evacuated and were located outside of the building. The 4 person crew from that first rig on scene used two members of their crew to enter the dwelling to investigate while the other two members set their aerial ladder to the roof of the house in preparation for possible vertical ventilation of the roof. Reports from the crew inside indicated a fire burning inside the walls and ceiling area above and around the fireplace located in the large, main living area of the home. That crew immediately began opening up the wall area above the fireplace and found fire burning on some of the structural framing of the walls and some of the supporting members of the roof system. As that initial crew was working, additional fire apparatus began arriving on scene. E1 from the Spokane Fire Department's Headquarters Station, located in downtown Spokane, was next to arrive on scene and they provided fire attack hose leads to knock the fire down. As still other fire apparatus began arriving on scene, they were directed to stage their apparatus out on Spokane Cheney Road and walk up the approximately 60 foot long uphill, narrow, and winding driveway to the house because access to this home by any additional large fire apparatus was very restricted. Additional water supply for this remotely located house was a concern and so a Water Tender from Fire District 10 was requested to respond to the incident as well. Very aggressive interior work by the crews on scene got the fire knocked down quickly and limited the fire's ability to spread into other areas of the structure, however collateral damage was done to areas of the home in and around the fireplace as crews widened the search area for hidden fire by further opening up the walls and ceilings. Crews worked on this fire for nearly four hours to insure that all of the hot spots were fully extinguished. There were no reports of any injuries to the firefighters or civilians on the fire ground. The cause of the fire is being investigated by members of the Spokane City Fire Dept.'s Special Investigation Unit (SIU). Preliminary investigation is focusing on a possible failure of the metal chimney system located in the interior walls and running up through the large and fairly open attic area and finally out the roof. Two senior ladder trucks, four engines, one heavy rescue rig, one water tender, and two Command Vehicles, delivered 26 fire fighters to the scene of this late night fire.

Cause:
Preliminary investigation is focusing on a failure of the extensive metal chimney system.

Damage:
Fire damage was limited to the structural framing in, around, and above the fireplace located in the main living area of the home.

# Firefighters Responding: 26

Dollar Loss: $20,000

Other Fire Districts Responding: Fire District 10

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