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Quick action keeps downtown fire small A discarded staining rag that spontaneously ignited is the likely cause of a downtown Medford fire. medford fire-rescue photo Thursday Mar 22, 2018 at 5:05 PM Mar 22, 2018 at 5:51 PM Ryan Pfeil Mail Tribune @RyanPfeil A desk received the brunt of the damage in a Wednesday night fire in downtown Medford, but the smoldering flames filled the affected building with a deluge of smoke. A janitor working a routine night shift at 209 W. Main St. smelled smoke and called 911 at 8:41 p.m., according to fire officials. “Really early detection and being able to get in quickly really minimized the damage,” said Steve Parks, Medford Fire-Rescue deputy fire marshal. The first engine arrived at 8:46 p.m. “They were able to make entry and located a small fire in the front office area,” Parks said. “It was basically contained to a desk and the area immediately adjacent to the desk.” Crews extinguished the fire quickly, but smoke had spread to much of the two-story structure, which Parks said is composed of two addresses — 209 and 211 W. Main St. — that share the same building. “(The fire) had been kind of smoky and smoldering for a while,” Parks said. “So the building was very full of smoke.” Having custodial staff on site made the jobs easier, firefighters said, because they had keys to the building. The small blaze was deemed accidental. The building had been undergoing some remodeling, including wood staining on doors and trim. An oily rag from those efforts was the likely culprit. It had not been properly disposed of and spontaneously ignited on the desk, where other combustible materials lay nearby. “Wood stain products, things like colored wood stain or teak oil, have properties in them that if you use it and leave it in free air, they have the ability to undergo a chemical reaction and generate their own heat,” Parks said. “It’s something that’s seen fairly regularly. Those types of products have very specific (disposal) instructions and warnings on their labels from their manufacturers.” No one was injured in Wednesday’s fire, and all fire crews cleared the scene by 10:30 p.m. Reach web editor Ryan Pfeil at [email protected] or at 541-776-4468.