It's been a rough winter in the Inland Northwest, and it's been even more difficult on Jina Luther.
Confined to a wheelchair, she's been unable to leave her apartment on the South Hill for the last month.
"I could not get out," Luther said. "I was trapped." The thick ice created by all the snow and freezing temperatures formed a barrier outside her front door, keeping her from being able to reach her paratransit van.
Luther realized how dangerous it could be if something were to happen and she had no way to escape.
"Oh my gosh, I could burn up in this apartment," she said. With her apartment complex refusing to do anything, she said, and nowhere else to go for help, Luther made a call to the Spokane Fire Department.
Chief Brian Schaeffer said there was no hesitation when he reached out to the firefighters at Station 11.