SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. — Eight people are displaced after an early morning second-alarm fire at a Spokane Valley apartment complex.
According to the Spokane Valley Fire Department (SVFD), the fire started in a second-story apartment at the Catherine Johnson Court Apartments early Friday morning. In total, four apartments were destroyed, leaving eight people and their respective pets displaced. No injuries were reported.
They're now being helped by the Red Cross.
At approximately 4:45 a.m., fire crews responded to the Spokane Valley apartment complex for a reported fire. Multiple callers told dispatch flames were coming from the balcony of a second-story apartment. When crews arrived, they saw flames on the exterior of the three-story apartment complex, including a patio and two balconies.
The building's sprinklers extinguished the fire inside the apartments and kept it from spreading to the attic. Water damage was reported in two other units. Four total units were deemed uninhabitable until repaired.
Crews responded to a second fire on East Marango Drive, burning a garage attached to a home.
According to Spokane Valley fire officials, the timing of both fires ended up their advantage.
"Other crews came in to relieve them on the regular shifts. Then the fire that started at noon was handled by a different shift," said SVFD Public Information Officer Jeff Smetzler.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
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