Fire near R&R displaces family of five
Illinois Valley Fire District (IVFD) responded with 16 firefighters and 13 pieces of apparatus to a fire on Elwood Lane Sunday afternoon, Feb. 10.(Photo by Dale & Elaine Sandberg, IVFD Media Dept.)
From our weekly issue dated February 13, 2008
The cause of a fire which destroyed a rural Cave Junction residence Sunday afternoon, Feb. 10 is still under investigation, said Illinois Valley Fire District (IVFD) Chief Harry Rich.
The fire, which was reported at 3:52 p.m., resulted in the “total loss” of structure and contents a double-wide manufactured residence on Elwood Lane, near Rough & Ready Lumber Co., south of Cave Junction.
No injuries were reported, though several firefighters suffered from exhaustion, Rich said.
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He explained that the interior of the home had been extensively remodeled and partitioned, and that there were “lots of contents,” making it difficult for firefighters to maneuver inside.
“This was probably one of the toughest fires we’ve fought,” he said.
Units from Rural/Metro Fire District were called to cover the valley while IVFD fought the blaze.(Photo by Dale & Elaine Sandberg, IVFD Media Dept.)
Residents, who were home at the time, reported smelling smoke, “like rubber burning,” Rich said. Occupants reported seeing smoke billow from beneath the residence, and the fire took off after they removed a section of skirting to investigate.
Firefighters appeared to have suppressed the fire after battling for more than an hour, Rich said, but then it re-erupted in the home’s false ceiling.
“It just exploded in a flashover,” Rich said. He then called for an additional Rural/Metro reinforcements for the spent firefighters.
Rich said that firefighters were frustrated in their initial efforts to reach the fire, as the residents were going in and out of the structure, retrieving items. Rich said he requested crowd control assistance from OSP and the sheriff’s office.
The residents, Rick & Christy Hewitt, and their three grandchildren, lost everything in the fire. They have been referred to the American Red Cross, and donations of clothes, money and other items can be made through Shop Smart Food Warehouse or Home Valley Bank. Phone 787-0662 for more information.
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