Elizabeth Burkland Obituary, Death – The identity of a woman who passed away in a fire that took place in Browne’s Addition the week before has been established by the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office. Inhalation of smoke was the cause of death for 42-year-old Elizabeth Burkland, who passed away at an apartment building located at 2318 W. Pacific Ave., according to the findings of the office of the medical examiner, which reported those findings. It was determined that she had passed away due to circumstances that were not of her own doing. Spokane Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer stated that investigators found evidence of cooking as well as discarded smoking materials in the area where the fire broke out.
At approximately 3:10 in the morning, a neighbor who lives on the same block called 911 to report what they described as a “very strong chemical smell,” as stated in a press release issued by the fire department. She also stated that she heard what she thought to be a fight, a woman sobbing, and someone falling to the ground. According to the announcement, there was a significant amount of fire on the back of the apartment building when the firefighters arrived at the scene of the incident. When the responding officers found Burkland to be in cardiac arrest, they removed her from the residence and transported her to an outside location.
During the time that some of the crew was putting out the fire, others of the crew were attempting to revive the victim while the building was still on fire. After being contained almost entirely within the residential unit for twenty-five minutes, the fire was put out and put out within the same time frame. A person who had lived in the building for a significant amount of time stated that the fire required all eight of the residents to evacuate their homes.
