Family escapes early morning house fire in Selma
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Two young children and their parents escaped uninjured from a major structure fire in Selma, but lost all their belongings.
The fire, reported at 5:48 a.m. Saturday, June 16, was at a two-story rented home at 2301 Reeves Creek Road. The heavy-beam home and deck, and two parked cars were fully involved in flames as Illinois Valley Fire District (IVFD) responded.
The dwelling was rented by Dan Demuth, 29, and his wife, Kelly, 28. They and their children, Maya, 5, and Josiah, 2, got out safely. The family moved from Maui some two months ago, according to Kelly Demuth.
She added that they had given notice to the owners of the home, and are in the process of renting a home in Takilma. The name of the Reeves Creek property owner was not available.
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“We’re lucky and blessed that we have a place to go to,” she said.
The large home, owned by two Portland residents, had a real market value of nearly $307,000, said the county assessor. A value of the home contents was unavailable for this issue.
IVFD responded with 16 firefighters, four tenders, a rescue rig, an air operations truck, and three engines, including one from Rural/Metro Fire Dept. Oregon Dept. of Forestry also sent an engine in case the fire spread to adjacent wildland. And American Medical Response had an ambulance on-scene.
No injuries to firefighters were reported.
Although the Rural/Metro unit was not used, its manpower came in handy, said IVFD Deputy Chief Jeff Gavlik. Including investigation and overhaul, after the fire was extinguished, some I.V. volunteers and staff were on-scene nearly eight hours.
It’s indicated that the cause of the blaze was a candle placed atop cardboard boxes in the attached garage, said Gavlik. That information was given him by Dan Demuth. He was downstairs, his wife said, when he heard crackling.
He opened the door, and saw flames. The family then grabbed a few items and left. They went to the bottom of the long drive to the house, where friends and neighbors stood by with them. The alarm was phoned by neighbors, as the family phone apparently was inoperative due to fire damage.
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IVFD laid approximately 100 yards of 3-inch hose from the tenders on Reeves Creek to an engine near the home to fight the intense flames.
“It was so scary,” said Kelly.
She said that they lost their clothing, art work, furnishings and other personal belongings. Friends and neighbors provided for immediate needs at the scene, including some clothing, and the family currently is staying with friends in Cave Junction.
Kelly said that she plans to contact American Red Cross to see what other help is available. Since the fire, the family has been given a table and chairs and children’s books. And it looks as though a bed is coming, she said.
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