SPOKANE, Wash. – The City of Spokane Fire Department received a call early Saturday morning about a house fire and a column of smoke visible from the Maple Street Bridge.
Firefighters were dispatched at 3:03 a.m. to the house at the 900 block of West Maxwell. They arrived within five minutes of the report.
The first engine to arrive reported heavy fire on one of the walls of the two-story house, reaching up to the house’s attic. Law enforcement advised that one person might still be inside.
Firefighters entered the house and searched the interior. They did not find anyone and learned that the house’s residents had already escaped, the City of Spokane Fire Department said.
The department said crews operated “offensively,” working from the inside.
“Firefighters forced entry into an adjacent structure to confirm the fire had not spread. Ventilation included roof operations, and soffits on multiple sides were removed during overhaul to ensure complete extinguishment,” the City of Spokane Fire Department wrote in its post about the fire response.
The department said the fire caused significant heat and smoke damage to the house and minor damage to the outside of a neighboring house.
Six adults were displaced, the department said. Red Cross was called to assist them. No injuries were reported.
The Spokane Fire Department said the fire was determined to be “incendiary in nature,” but is still under investigation.
