SPOKANE, Wash. — One month after fires ripped through northwest Spokane and burned hundreds of homes to their foundations, recovery efforts are gaining momentum. The first homeowner has received clearance from the city of Spokane to rebuild, so far, it’s the only single family rebuild permit given out in the recovery process.
John Spring, a flooring contractor with decades of experience in the industry, became the first property owner to receive a rebuild permit from the city. A demolition crew is currently finishing the cleanup of his property, with work expected to be completed by the end of this week.
Spring said the moment he knew his house was gone, he made the decision to rebuild.
“We love where we lived. We loved our neighbors. Just a great spot. And I don’t think there was any doubt that we were going to rebuild,” Spring said.
Spring says, luckily because of his career, he knows the rebuilding process pretty well. He quickly got his asbestos abatement and testing done, and says the EPA showed up at his home soon after.
He also says that contractors he’s known for 40 years, reached out to him to help.
“Knowing people for me was for sure the key,” Spring said. “Friends of mine, contractors, reaching out to me to help was just unbelievable. How good it makes you feel…. that they want to help me.”
Another helpful factor — his home was built in 2022, which the city says is new enough to retain electronic design plans.
Spring says the process to receive the rebuild permit was in part luck, but also hard work.
“I have worked every single day tirelessly, but I’m thinking about moving forward every day and getting our house back as soon as possible.”
The city tells KXLY they have 13 demolition permits in their system. 9 of those have been issued and they have the asbestos results. 2 are waiting on the EPA and the last 2 are waiting for their asbestos survey results.
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