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(Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli) MOTHER, CHILD DIE IN FIRE Officials believe the mom stayed behind in the burning duplex to help three other children escape By anita burke Mail Tribune A neighbor screaming "fire" awakened Jesus Cuevas from the couch in his west Medford duplex early Tuesday. He raced to pull on jeans and a sweatshirt and wake up others staying at his home, then opened his front door to a wall of flames roaring from the duplex directly across a small yard from his. "I saw big flames," he said. "When I opened the door, the flames and heat were right in my face." He slammed the door and went out a back door and over a fence to a parking lot where neighbors gathered to watch in horror as the fire raged through the back duplex unit at 432 S. Columbus Ave. "It was scary," he said. "I can't believe my little neighbor died." Tomas Aguilar-Valle Jr., 11, and his mother, Kathy Marie Davis, 37, both died in the fire. Davis' other son, Alberto Aguilar-Valle, 10, is in critical condition at the Oregon Burn Center at Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland, hospital officials said Tuesday afternoon. Advertisement A neighbor reportedly broke out windows to help reach the family and pulled Alberto to safety, said Killa Ramirez, Davis' older daughter who doesn't live at the duplex. Davis' daughter Rosa Palamino, 13, and friend Marjanique Ashworth, 16, who was staying at the home, escaped through a bedroom window, Ramirez said. Neighbors called 9-1-1 to report the fire at about 2 a.m. Tuesday. Four of Medford's five fire trucks were responding to a garage fire across town that had been reported at 1:55 a.m., but the closest truck raced to the fire in four minutes. "We had an initial report of smoke and fire visible and people trapped inside," Medford Fire Chief Dave Bierwiler said. "These are very stressful times for firefighters." A crowd had gathered in front of the row of battleship gray duplexes that line one side of the street in the 400 block of South Columbus and they called for firefighters to do something. "It's an extremely challenging situation to get there and have the crowd urging them on and they know they don't have the resources to help," Bierwiler said of the first fire crew to arrive. They immediately called for help from neighboring departments and began battling the blaze that blocked them from even reaching the duplex's door, he said. Fire department records show that it took 18 minutes for a full complement of four fire enginess, including some from Jackson County Fire District No. 3 in Central Point and the Phoenix Fire Department, to arrive so there would be enough firefighters and equipment at the scene to safely enter the burning building. Bierwiler explained that Medford, the sixth busiest fire department in the state in terms of number of calls, can handle one serious structure fire at a time. Fire officials have presented their case to the City Council over the past year seeking additional funds for increased staffing and equipment. "It's a service level question for this community," Bierwiler said. "It needs to be a community decision." Neighbors reported hearing Davis calling Tomas' name and shouting to get down and get out. "You have to respect her efforts to get everyone out to safety," said Deputy Fire Chief Larry Anderson. Her body was found on the bedroom floor near a window others had clambered out. Police and fire investigators said it appeared she had stayed to help the children out. Ramirez said her little brother Tomas had always had lung problems and breathing difficulties, so she speculated that he was overcome by the smoke first and her mother was waiting and calling for him, when she, too, was overcome. Ramirez said her mom was "the neighborhood mom, grandma, baby sitter, everything. All the kids came to her." Maria Rodriguez-Alfaro, who lives across the street, had known Davis since she was little. "She was a wonderful person," Rodriguez-Alfaro said. "She would give you the shirt off her back." Davis worked at a Harry and David call center and often translated for her Hispanic coworkers and neighbors. She also loved dancing at Mexican dances. Tomas, a fifth-grade student at Jefferson Elementary, also baby-sat neighborhood kids, who called him Uncle Tomas, said Toni Norton, who lives down the street. "He was very helpful and like a big brother to the little kids," she said. He liked video games and wanted to be a football player, but he also loved to cook. "His spaghetti was the bomb," she said. "It was better than mine, and I always thought mine was pretty good." Ramirez said Alberto was in stable condition, although he had a burn on his forehead and damage to his lungs. Extended family was with him in Portland, where he is expected to stay at least a week. He was flown to the burn center from Rogue Valley Medical Center. Investigators combed the scene throughout Tuesday for clues to how the fire began. Family and friends suspect a heater in the ceiling may have caused the fire. Reach reporter Anita Burke at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] . 39 MINUTES 1:55 a.m. — A fire is reported in an attached three-car garage at 2435 E. McAndrews Road. 2:01 a.m. — The first engine reaches the garage fire to find a wall of smoke and flame. Within moments, four engines are on scene, the standard number sent to structure fires. Firefighters on the first engine make a quick attack using water from their truck, while later engines run hoses from a hydrant down a long driveway to the garage. 2:02 a.m. — Two callers report a fire at a duplex at 436 S. Columbus Ave. and say people are trapped inside. 2:06 a.m. — A fire engine arrives at the South Columbus duplex and finds flames and smoke billowing from two sides of the building while a crowd gathers in the parking lot. Firefighters summon backup from neighboring fire departments. 2:11 a.m. — A battalion chief arrives at the Columbus duplex fire from the McAndrews fire. 2:13 a.m. — A second Medford fire engine, pulled from the McAndrews fire, arrives at the burning duplex. 2:16 a.m. — An off-duty supervisor who is called in arrives at the Columbus fire. 2:19 a.m. — A Jackson County Fire District No. 3 engine crew arrives at the Columbus fire to assist Medford. 2:20 a.m. — Medford Fire Chief Dave Bierwiler arrives at the Columbus fire from the McAndrews fire. The Phoenix Fire Department arrives, giving the fire its full first-alarm response of four engines. 2:31 a.m. — The McAndrews fire is declared under control. The loss, including structural damage and the loss of a car and other contents, is ultimately estimated at about $42,000. The cause is under investigation. 2:34 a.m. — The Columbus fire is under control. Because of the loss of life, the fire investigation is a priority, but no cause has been determined. Family members and neighbors suspect a heater in the ceiling. Would you like to respond to this story? If so Click Here to visit our forums. Advertisement Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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