Spokane: Cooking Fire Leaves One with Critical Injuries
Washingtoner/10258537

~ At approximately 6:30 pm this evening, the Spokane Fire Department received a distress call reporting a kitchen fire at an apartment complex located at 7723 West US 2 Hwy. The call was made by an occupant of the affected unit who had safely evacuated and informed 9-1-1 dispatchers that her husband was still inside. Additional callers also reported seeing visible smoke and flames coming from the unit.

Upon receiving the call, firefighters from Spokane County Fire District 10 were immediately dispatched to assist. Engine 6 arrived on the scene just three minutes later and confirmed that a male subject was still trapped inside the burning unit. Despite encountering difficulty in fully opening the front door due to debris blocking the way, firefighters were able to briefly knock down some of the fire before rerouting their hoseline to the rear door leading to the kitchen.

Once inside, they quickly extinguished the visible flames and began searching for the victim. Despite facing limited visibility and excessive clutter, firefighters were able to locate and remove him from a bedroom where he was found lying on the floor. Advanced life support measures were immediately initiated.

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As more firefighters arrived on scene, adjacent units were searched for any other victims or signs of fire extension but nothing out of the ordinary was found. With confirmation that the fire was contained within its original unit, efforts were focused on ventilating smoke with fans and ensuring complete extinguishment.

According to reports from the female occupant who had safely evacuated, she and her husband had been cooking dinner when they briefly left the kitchen to use the restroom. It was during this time that she smelled smoke and heard smoke alarms going off simultaneously. Upon exiting, she saw that flames had spread beyond their stovetop, forcing her to crawl low on the floor in order to escape through dense smoke.

The adult male victim was rushed to hospital by paramedics with AMR in critical condition. A subsequent investigation by fire officials determined that the cause of the fire was unattended cooking and estimated damages to be around $80,000. However, thanks to the swift actions of firefighters, property valued at $500,000 was saved. Avista Utilities was also called to the scene to secure utilities for the affected unit.

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In light of this incident, the Spokane Fire Department is reminding citizens about the dangers of leaving cooking unattended, even for a brief moment. According to statistics, unattended cooking is the leading cause of residential fires and results in an average of 158,400 reported home structure fires each year. These fires also lead to an average of 470 civilian deaths and 4,150 civilian injuries annually.

Photos taken at the scene show extensive damage to the affected unit as well as firefighters working diligently to contain and extinguish the fire. The Spokane Fire Department urges all citizens to be cautious when cooking and to never leave a stove or oven unattended.

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