The Valley Regional Fire Authority responded to 184 calls for service between Jan. 27 and Jan. 31, among them the following:

Jan. 27

Laundry room fire: 9:17 p.m., (Auburn). Firefighters responding to a laundry room fire at North Auburn Rehabilitation Center found that dry mop heads and rags stored in a laundry room hamper had burst into spontaneous flames. The moderate amount of smoke did not escape the laundry room, and firefighters quickly snuffed the fire then ventilated the building to remove any lingering smoke. All of the residents stayed in their rooms behind closed doors.

Aid call: 10:30 a.m., (Auburn). Engine 38 personnel helped a 63-year-old woman who had slipped and fallen while walking in front of her Lakeland Hills home. As the woman’s right arm showed all the signs of breakage, they splinted it. American Medical Response then transported the woman to Auburn Regional Medical Center for further care.

Jan. 28

Natural gas leak: 11:27 a.m., (Auburn). Engine 38 responded to the intersection of A Street Southeast and 41st Street Southeast to a construction worker who had cut his arm working in the area. A second call for the same location soon rent the air, this one concerned with a leak in a natural gas pipeline. Engine 38 approached the scene and saw an underground, high pressure gas pipe spitting vapor into the air. Workers had already evacuated the immediate area around the excavated site, so VRFA and police officers set up a “hot zone” perimeter around the leak and began evacuating nearby businesses. Puget Sound Energy (PSE) coordinated a specialized pipeline repair entry team to address the leaking gas main. VRFA personnel provided fire/explosion protection to the workers and nearby businesses, standby medical aid and air monitoring for the next several hours until the leak was contained.

Jan. 29

Broken water pipe: (Auburn). A large, domestic water line, feeding a boiler on the sixth floor of Emerald Down race track burst, causing extensive water damage. Firefighters worked with Emerald Downs staff to secure the water flow and electrical power in the affected areas. Water had cascaded through the ceilings and stairs down to the 3rd floor. Damage to property was extensive and VRFA personnel helped with water removal and salvage operations.

Jan. 30

Natural gas leak: 5:20 p.m., (Auburn). Engine 38 responding to an odor of natural gas near the intersection of 41st and A Street Southeast, confirmed that the stench was wafting out of the excavation surrounding the site where repairs were ongoing for a pipe ruptured two days earlier. Air monitoring tools detected a level of natural gas that went beyond safe flammable limits. Additional VRFA and APD resources were requested, crews secured a perimeter and then began to evacuate nearby businesses. PSE emergency personnel found that the line had begun to leak around a temporary patch. Fortunately, PSE quickly control the leak, allowing the intersection to partially reopen. Because of this new leak, PSE and its contractors worked overnight to complete the permanent repairs.

Jan. 31

Community support: (Auburn). Station 32 “C” shift personnel ran in a 5K Breast Cancer fund raiser beginning at Sunset Park. The event was arranged to raise money for a teacher who was recently diagnosed with cancer and receiving treatment for the disease. VRFA Captain Golden, Firefighter Mushen, and Firefighter Allen ran the race wearing their fire protective bunker gear and breathing apparatus. Everyone thought it was great to have the VRFA personnel involved, except maybe those that got passed by firefighters wearing 50 pounds of additional equipment. Battalion 31 followed all runners in the event providing medical and logistical support if needed.

Car accident: 11:12 a.m., (Lea Hill). Units responded to the 10500 block of Southeast 320th Street to an occupied truck off the road, over the hillside and on fire. Subsequent reports indicated that bystanders thought the driver of the truck was unconscious. Engine 34 arrived first and found that bystanders had already removed the driver. Firefighters observed a small fire in the engine compartment of the truck which was off the road but not over the hillside. The crew treated the man while the Engine 31 crew stabilized the vehicle and extinguished the small fire. Auburn police were investigating the cause of the accident.