High winds fanned the flames on a house fire in the 3500 block of East Chattaroy Road early Wednesday morning, hampering efforts to extinguish the fire.
The fire broke out just before 5 a.m. and, with winds gusting at 20 to 25 miles per hour, fire crews arriving on the scene from Spokane County Fire District 4 were forced to take a defensive stance to prevent the fire from spreading to other nearby structures.
“Our main concern is making sure no other buildings nearby catch on fire," Captain Vincent Speziale with Spokane County Fire District 4 said.
When firefighters first arrived at the home Speziale said the home's roof was completely engulfed.
“When you have got winds like that in a house and it's a wind driven fire, it's really difficult. You need lots of gallons per minute and we were really pushing our water system here," he said.
Adding to the problem of extinguishing the blaze, the fire hydrant and water system in the neighborhood is in the process of being updated.
“Not totally completed yet unfortunately but again we have four or five water tenders with 3000 gallons each," Speziale said.
The couple that lived in the home made it out alright, though their home was a total loss.
District 4 officials say they planned early for a busy day.
“We had several meetings yesterday with our command staff. We had extra staff coming in in the morning," Speziale said. “We have got plans in place so that if things happen we have contingency plans and extra equipment ready to attack it."