Between Sept. 12 and Sept. 25, the Valley Regional Fire Authority responded to 659 total calls to 911 for service, among them the following:

Sept. 12

Kitchen fire: 10:11 p.m. (Auburn). Firefighters responding to a sprinkler water flow alarm caused by a cooking fire arrived to find it had already been extinguished by the sprinkler system. Firefighters confirmed that there was no fire extension to the building and worked with maintenance to restore the system. The VRFA arranged lodging through the Red Cross for the displaced families.

Sept. 13

Motorcycle accident: 12:32 p.m. (Lea Hill). Firefighters and medics responding to a T-bone vehicle accident treated a motorcyclist who had suffered severe injuries to one foot in the collision. A helicopter zipped the person to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Sept. 14

Aid call: 9 a.m. (Auburn). Firefighters examined a febrile man who was suffering from an infection, and a private ambulance transported the guy to MultiCare Auburn Medical Center.

Sept. 15

Recycling pit fire: 3:56 p.m. (Pacific). Firefighters responding to an outside recycling pit fire found heavy fire conditions, including exposures to a commercial propane tank and a fuel depot. Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze, and nobody was hurt. The fire is under investigation.

Sept. 16

Accident: 12:26 p.m. (Auburn). Firefighters and King County paramedics responding to the report of a two-vehicle accident with injuries found two vehicles with heavy damage and one trapped person. Firefighters quickly extricated the injured party utilizing extrication tools, then treated and packaged the person for Airlift transportation to Harborview Medical Center.

Sept. 17

Fire alarm: 4:51 p.m. (Auburn). Firefighters responding to a residential fire alarm found a cutting board burning on a stove. Once firefighters got into the house, they removed the burning material to the backyard, ventilated the house with an electric fan and confirmed there was no fire extension in the kitchen before leaving the scene.

Sept. 18

Service call: 12:06 p.m. (Auburn). Firefighters responded to an Auburn Police Department request to shut off the municipal water supply to an apartment complex for a barricaded subject on the second floor, where a resident was said to be flooding the units beneath him, but was not responding to calls from neighbors, apartment managers, or direct contact with Auburn police. Once police had secured the scene, firefighters shut off water to the building to limit flood damage.

Sept. 19

Wires down: 9:31 a.m. (Auburn). Firefighters hustling to a report of wires over a roadway discovered a loose phone line on a sidewalk, which they secured to a tree. Firefighters then notified the crew that was working on the downed line.

Oil spill: 1:30 p.m. (Auburn). Firefighters responding to a report of vehicles losing control over a possible oil spill discovered a local highway interchange with an approximately 100-foot-long oil slick. Firefighters used cones to redirect traffic to avoid the slick and gave the Washington State Department of Transportation a jingle to sand the area. No one was hurt.

Sept. 20

Brush fire: 1:41 p.m. (Algona). Firefighters initially responding to a two-car, roll-over accident on West Valley Highway instead found a fast-moving brush fire on the western slope of West Valley Highway, but no vehicle accident. Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze, thereby protecting a small home. Nobody was hurt. The property sustained only minor property damage. The fire’s cause turned out to have been vehicle driving on three tired wheels and shooting sparks from the rim of the fourth wheel into the roadside grass.

Sept. 21

Brush fire: 8:02 p.m. (Lakeland Hills). Firefighters responding to a 40’-by-40’ brush fire adjacent to a roadway killed the flames and ensured the area would be free of hot spots and any potential recurring events.

Sept. 23

Medical aid: 11:24 a.m. (Lakeland Hills). Firefighters and King County Medic One paramedics responded to an unconscious male found in respiratory distress, whom they treated before paramedics zipped him to the emergency room at MultiCare Auburn Medical Center.

Sept. 24

Accident: 2:41 p.m. (Auburn). Firefighters responding to a single-vehicle rollover accident on the on-ramp from westbound SR 18 to northbound SR 167 assessed and treated four people on scene. All four injured parties were then transported to MAMC for further treatment and evaluation.

Brush fire: 11:20 a.m. (Auburn). Firefighters responding to a 50’-by-50’ brush fire behind Mt. Baker Middle School at a homeless encampment found a refrigerator, which had been full of flammable liquids, fully involved in fire at the center of the burned area. Firefighters extinguished the fire, which is under investigation.

Sept. 25

Residential fire: 11:59 a.m. (Auburn). Firefighters hurrying to a residential fire that had spread to trees near the house knocked down the fire on the house while also containing the fire on the hillside next to the house. Owing to the steep hill, firefighters had to set up a rope system to lower a firefighter to completely extinguish the fire. The fire was brought under control and investigated by a VRFA fire investigator.