Smoke Alarms Not Working in Spokane, WA, House Where Woman Perished
The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.
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Apr. 9—A woman and her two dogs died in a house fire on the South Hill early Wednesday morning.
The Spokane Fire Department responded to multiple calls of flames erupting from a house at 608 W. 27th Ave around 12:40 a.m. Wednesday, according to a release from the department. Callers told dispatchers a woman was known to have lived in the house and had not been spotted outside after the neighborhood took notice of the blaze.
Molly Adolfae, who lives next door to the burned home with her husband, said a couple who lives across the street were the first to spot the flames. They tried knocking on the door of the house to ensure everyone had gotten out, but were unable to make contact, she said. The couple called 911 and went to the surrounding houses, including Adolfae's, to notify the occupants.
Firefighters pulled the woman and her two dogs from the fire within 10 minutes of arrival, according to the release. They were pronounced dead at the scene.
"It was just one of the scariest things," Adolfae said. "It was huge."
Adolfae's home, and the two others that share property lines with the burned structure, did not appear to be damaged by the blaze. Still, Adolfae said she was fearful the fire would jump to her house, given the height of the flames and the heat they gave off.
"Last night, I was thinking the houses were much closer, being in the dark and with the flames shooting up," Adolfae said. "I thought, 'Oh my God.' "
The woman who lived in the house had taken over the property from her mother, the property owner, after she moved into a retirement community a few years ago, Adolfae said. Her heart goes out to the family, who had been in the well-connected neighborhood for more than a decade, according to property records.
Firefighters had to contend with "severe hoarding conditions" in the hour it took to control the blaze, according to the release. Piles of boxes, scorched clothing and melted women's footwear littered the yard Wednesday morning.
Adolfae said there was a fire at the house two years ago as well.
Before Wednesday's blaze, she said, multiple boxes could be seen inside the home filled with the mother's and resident's belongings, likely still unpacked from when they were placed into storage after the first fire, Adolfae said. There were no injuries stemming from the 2023 fire, which was reported by an alarm company that contacted 911 after a carbon monoxide detector in the house went off, according to a Spokane Fire Department news release at the time.
Spokane Fire Department spokesman Justin de Ruyter said investigators are working to determine if smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors were in place at the time of the latest fire, as well as the cause of the blaze.
The Spokane County Medical Examiner's Office will release the identity of the victim.
The fire reduced the small 1938 house to a brick shell by sunrise. Members of a restoration company were working on the roof as neighbors gathered out front Tuesday morning to check in with one another after a stressful night.
"It's just so unfortunate," Adolfae said.
This story is developing.
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