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47 °F Forecast | Road Cams Sunday, March 6, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend March 5, 2005 Fire District No. 3 firefighters cut a hole into the roof of a burning house on Esther Way in Central Point Friday afternoon. The fire destroyed the garage and part of the house in the rural neighborhood. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Garage blaze reaches attic Neighbors, firefighters help homeowners move precious keepsakes to safety as Central Point home burns By ANITA BURKE Mail Tribune Fire ripped through a Central Point garage and spread to the attic of the $500,000 home Friday morning before firefighters quelled the flames. Richard Holman and Donna Wojczynski escaped from their home on Esther Way and, with the help of firefighters and neighbors, salvaged artwork, family photos, a Bible and other mementos. As crews from Jackson County Fire District No. 3 sprayed water on the smoldering remains of the garage and the Toyota Avalon inside it, Holman tucked framed Thomas Kinkade prints in the back of his minivan, which had been parked along the street. While some firefighters labored in the smoky attic, visible through a hole chopped in the steep roof, others joined the procession of people carrying art and personal items from the house to the van. Although the blaze was contained to the garage, attic and one upstairs room in the two-story, 2,900-square-foot house, smoke, heat and water caused damage throughout, said district Fire Chief Randy Iverson. He estimated the loss from the fire at 50 to 75 percent of the home’s value. Advertisement Holman reported the fire at 11:15 a.m. He had come in from the garage just five or 10 minutes earlier and had gone upstairs to work at his computer when he heard several banging sounds, "like a door slamming," he said. He went to investigate and saw flames licking around the furnace and water heater in the garage. Within minutes the car was engulfed, too. By the time firefighters arrived, flames filled the garage, Iverson said. With no hydrants in the upscale, rural neighborhood, crews called in a tanker truck to supply water. They knocked down the highest flames by shooting streams of water from a nozzle mounted on a fire engine parked on the street. Firefighters gained the upper hand in about 20 minutes, but fully controlling the fire took nearly 40 minutes, Iverson said. They scrambled along the pitched roof to break into the burning attic from above. "It was intense," said Bryan Camarena, who lives across the street. He said his wife called him while he was on the road to report a house fire and he sped home, initially fearing that his own home was ablaze. He arrived to find fire raging across the street and explosions, probably from the burning car, sounding through the neighborhood. A vinyl fence next to the garage buckled and melted. By 12:30 p.m. fire crews had settled in for a long afternoon of wiping out the last of the flames and starting the clean- up and investigation. Equipment was brought in to refill air tanks firefighters use inside smoky rooms, and food and drinks were provided for the firefighters. Holman and Wojczynski planned to stay with their next-door neighbors, while firefighters, investigators, insurance adjusters and clean-up crews did their ongoing work. No cause for the fire had been determined by Friday afternoon. "This is a nice neighborhood," Holman said. "The neighbors are kind enough to take us in." Reach reporter Anita Burke at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg Slippers Student Loans afsa teleconferencing Memory Foam Mattress Advertisement s