CHENEY – A residential structure fire roused a sleeping neighborhood around 12 a.m. on Thursday morning, June 16.
The Cheney Fire Department was the first to respond to a call of a home on fire on Hillview Drive.
Chief Tom Jenkins said the department doesn’t have the explicit training to do a proper fire investigation, but he does need to determine if there was foul play involved or any fatalities.
“I am confident that it was not malicious intent and there were no fatalities,” he said. “Everyone was able to make it out okay so we don’t need the Spokane Fire team to do an investigation.”
Jenkins said two scenarios could’ve led to the incident.
“The resident lit a fire in the fireplace during the morning and around noon he put it out, so it could be that,” he said. “The other thing that it could be is an electrical fire.”
Jenkins said he firmly believes it is the former, not the latter.
“I’m leaning more towards the fireplace based on the place of origin,” Jenkins said. “I’ll put in my report that I believe there is a high probability that it came from the fireplace but I can’t rule out an electrical fire.”
Jenkins reiterated that no one was injured and all residents made it out safely.
He also said the fire crews arrived quickly and put the fire out, so the house was not a total loss.
“Thankfully, we kept it to where the house is reparable and salvageable,” Jenkins said. “Thank you to our brothers and sisters in neighboring towns—Spokane County Fire District 3, Airway Heights Fire Department and AMR.”
Michaela is a former newsroom intern at the Cheney Free Press. She covered stories on education, city government, cops/courts/fire departments and local businesses.
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