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Early Morning Strip Mall Fire

Incident #: 2011019034
Date of Incident: 5/17/2011
Issuing Officer: AC Schaeffer

Narrative:
On Tuesday May 17, 2011 at 6:04 AM, 8 Companies of Spokane Firefighters, 5 Engines, 2 Senior Ladders and 1 Heavy Rescue under the direction of Battalion Chiefs Brown and Fielder responded to a commercial structure fire at 918 North Division "U-Save Cleaners." Firefighters arrived within 5-minutes and found a long strip mall with smoke showing from a middle unit (U-Save Cleaners). Firefighters met an employee which explained that she had discharged a fire extinguisher to the ceiling after seeing flames. Initial companies entered the Cleaner's portion of the building to locate and extinguish the quick moving overhead fire while additional companies forced entry into adjoining units to prevent the fire from spreading to other businesses. SFD members skillfully protected clothing, records and equipment in the building while holding the fire to the area above U-Save Cleaners. The fire was extinguished completely in just 30 minutes. No injuries were reported.

Cause:
The cause of this early morning fire is still under investigation.

Damage:
Primary damage is limited to the U-Cleaners section of the building. Utilities have been temporarily disabled to the entire building limiting service to Supercuts and Hollywood Video.

# Firefighters Responding: 29

Dollar Loss: $20000

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STRUCTURE FIRE WITH BURN VICTIM

Incident #:  2011018498
Date of Incident:  5/13/2011
Issuing Officer:  AC Schaeffer

Narrative:
On Friday May 13, 2011 at 2:32 PM, 8 Companies of Spokane Firefighters, 2 Senior Ladders, 5 Engines, 1 Heavy Rescue under the direction of Battalion Chiefs Cornelius and Jones, responded to a building fire at 229 West Second Avenue in downtown Spokane. While enroute to the incident, companies were notified that civilians may be trapped and one victim was reportedly ".on fire in the hallway of the first floor..." The first companies arrived within three-minutes and confirmed that smoke was showing from the front and rear of the three-story apartment building. The first due Engine and Ladder went to work immediately on arrival and secured water supply and stretched a hoseline in attempt to control the fire's progress and protect the egress of civilians from the upper floors. Simultaneously the Ladder Company searched the area of the fire unit for savable civilians. A male victim was located and removed from the hallway of floor 1 to the exterior where he was immediately treated by awaiting SFD Paramedics. All companies assigned on the alarm were immediately dedicated to searching the building while trying to suppress the fire's progress when they arrived. Decisive action by first arriving company officers allowed a successful search of the entire building which resulted in a confirmation that all 25 occupants were evacuated and accounted for. The fire was declared under control in less than 30-minutes and no other injuries were reported.

Cause:
The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Fire Department's Special Investigation Unit.

Damage:
Damage was limited to the first-floor unit of the fire's origin. The building was protected with a fire alarm system AND a sprinkler system. Both systems worked appropriately. The smoke detectors and fire alarm alerted all of the building's residents of the emergency and allowed for an early and controlled egress. The closest sprinkler head to the fire was activated and successfully kept the fire confined to the area of origin until firefighters could stretch hoselines to the seat of the fire and extinguish it completely. The building's safety systems have been restored and Fire Marshal Lisa Jones has allowed occupancy for the building with exception of the unit that received damage from fire. The victim is an adult male suffering from critical 3rd degree burns over 60% of his body plus significant airway burns. He was initially transported to Sacred Heart and has just been transferred to Harborview in Seattle.

# Firefighters Repsonding: 31

Dollar Loss: $10,000

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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

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North Battalion, Natural Gas leak

Incident #:  2011017309
Date of Incident:  5/4/2011
Issuing Officer:  Joel Fielder/ Battalion Chief

Narrative:
At approximately 10:30 PM on May 4, 2011 crews from the Spokane Fire Department responded to a natural gas leak at the intersection of Division and Queen. It was reported by an Avista supervisor that a 2 inch gas line had been cut during road construction work. Fire crews established an evacuation zone in the general neighborhood and gained access to several businesses to monitor the structures for any indications of migrating natural gas. Avista crews were able to shut the gas flow off and repair the line. Fire department resources consisting of four engine companies, three ladders companies, a rescue apparatus and 2 response chiefs were utilized on this incident which was terminated at 12:30 AM. There were no injuries to civilians or firefighters and the incident was confined to the area of origin.

Cause:
Cut gas line from road construction work.

Damage:
Confined to gas line

# Firefighters Repsonding: 31

Dollar Loss: $1

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SFD's appreciation to the United States Military and Intelligence Community

Incident #: 
Date of Incident:  5/3/2011
Issuing Officer:  AC Schaeffer

Narrative:
The Spokane Fire Department would like to express its appreciation to the United States Military and Intelligence Community in conducting a successful operation after the official notification of Osama bin Laden's death. The members of our Department hope that those who lost a family member or friend in the September 11, 2001 attacks can find some closure from this news. Members of the SFD Have Never Forgotten the civilians and the 343 members of the FDNY who so bravely lost their lives on that horrific day. The impact of Osama bin Laden's death is still being assessed, but this event represents a significant blow to al-Qaeda, its affiliates, and their extremist ideology. The members of the SFD and local Law Enforcement will remain vigilant in reporting any suspicious observations and we encourage the public to do the same. Spokane County's "See it, Say it" Campaign offers a tool to that citizens can access online at www.spokanecounty.org/sheriff/tips or Crime Check at 456-2233 to report suspicious activity. If you witness immediate life-threatening activities do not hesitate and call 9-1-1.

Cause:
N/A

Damage:
N/A

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Bloomsday Incident Update

Incident #:  2011016801 - 51
Date of Incident:  5/1/2011
Issuing Officer:  AC Schaeffer

Narrative:
Today's Bloomsday event involved over 50,000 participants and thousands more visitors to the City's urban core. The contingency planning and emergency response for the event was coordinated by the Spokane Fire Department and Spokane Police Department in unified command from a vehicle near the event's finish line. Fire Department Paramedics were deployed on bicycles, on foot, in SUV's and in utility vehicles throughout the course. Staffed fire apparatus also had to be placed within "island" areas created by the race course in order to guarantee a quick response to those residents in the event of an emergency. The two aircraft assigned to the incident, Sheriff's Air 1 and MedStar 1, were utilized to provide rapid transport for injured/ill racers that could not be evacuated by ambulance as well as providing tactical air reconnaissance of the race. The movement of the aircraft were coordinated from the event's command post to assure the safety of the attendees. During the event, we dispatched FD resources to 17 medical incidents and a total of eight (8) patients were transported by AMR to local hospitals. The patient's injuries ranged in severity from chest pain and stroke to fractured ankles and dehydration. The Fire Department's PedMed Teams and on-duty resources successfully kept the citizens and visitors safe with a quick, planned and coordinated response. We are already making plans for next year's Bloomsday which will likely be even better than 2011. You can help us and the community by learning CPR, please visit the SFD's YouTube video explaining how easy it is to learn the new hands-only CPR at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=912qx-MMwsI

Cause:
N/A

Damage:
N/A

End Of Release
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