SPOKANE, Wash – Monday afternoon’s fire caused a roof collapse at U.S. Bank on the South Hill, which was “too close for comfort,” according to the Spokane Fire Department (SFD.)
Firefighters responded to the call after U.S. Bank employees smelled smoke. When crews responded, they were confronted with flames and heavy black smoke. Justin de Ruyter with SFD told NonStop Local if those responding to the scene had not seen the warning sign of the roof lowering by two feet, it could have ended differently.
“Had that not happened, we probably would have had some dead firefighters,” said de Ruyter.
With the fire now extinguished, many are left with lingering questions about the safety of their belongings stored in the safety deposit boxes. U.S. Bank, in a statement, clarified that “contents are not covered by the FDIC or the U.S. bank insurance policy.”
The statement highlighted that “safety deposit boxes are designed to be fire and water-resistant, but we do not guarantee absolute safety.”
Aaron VanTuyl from the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner further confirmed the contents of safety deposit boxes are not covered. However, he highlighted that they may be covered by home or renters insurance, but there was a caveat: “For it to be covered, you’d need to have a special endorsement to file a claim.”
de Ruyter said this fire was a learning opportunity for the department, as they do not typically respond to many commercial fires, “a big lesson to be learned is building construction, especially roof systems and lightweight trusses. They are strong, but they fail very quickly with fire impingement.”
The cause of this fire is still under investigation.
