Spokane County Fire District 3 officials say the cause of a blaze that destroyed a home east of Marshall April 30 is still undetermined even though they believe the fire originated in the home’s basement.
District Division Chief Debby Dodson said crews from five stations responded to the blaze at 12224 S. Gwendolyn Lane shortly after noon when renters of an apartment on the premise called saying smoke was coming from under a deck and from the attic.
Crews had difficulty fighting the fire due to the large size of the house and the availability of water, which required a tanker truck from Fire District 8 and a District 3 vehicle to make several refilling trips. At one point, several firefighters inside the house sent out mayday calls after hearing a loud pop.
Dodson said the firefighters exited the house within about 10-15 seconds of hearing the noise, which was followed by what she termed a “smoke explosion.” A smoke explosion occurs when the amount and size of the particles builds up during a fire and actually ignite, sometimes forcefully.
“It’s one of those heat events that happens,” Dodson said. “It’s one of those things that gets your attention. They (firefighters) were a couple feet from the door and got out quickly.”
The fire caused the first floor to collapse into the basement. Dodson said the building was a total loss, which the district estimated at roughly $700,000 for the house and contents.
A total of 31 firefighters, 27 from District 3 and four from District 8, were involved in battling the blaze. District 3 stations responding were Station 31 (Cheney), Station 33 (Four Lakes), Station 35 (Paradise), Station 36 (Spangle) and Station 37 (Aspen Meadows).
John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].
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