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Sawmill office fire might've been set Three-alarm blaze did $500,000 damage By DAVID PRESZLER Medford police and fire officials are investing a blaze that destroyed a timber office early Sunday morning as a possible arson. The fire was reported just before 1 a.m. at the two-story U.S. Forest Industries business office at 2611 Whittle Ave. Firefighters quickly contained the blaze to the building but putting it out took several hours. "The building was damaged to the point where we pulled back to more of a defensive position for safety reasons," said Medford Fire Battalion Chief Dan Peterson. No one was in the building when firefighters arrived and no one was injured in fighting the blaze. The structure served as the business office for the company that runs sawmills in White City and Grants Pass. The building was expected to be declared a total loss, with the structure valued at about $300,000 and the contents at around $200,000, Peterson said. The fire went beyond a third alarm, currently the Medford Fire Department's highest designation. All Medford on-duty firefighters were at the scene and several back-ups were called in. Crews from the Phoenix Fire Department, Jackson County Fire District No. 5 and Fire District No. 3 were also called in. "We had everybody out," Peterson said. There were 40 firefighters working the blaze, 30 of them from Medford. Fire investigators searched the building Sunday but were unable to pinpoint a cause. "We haven't ruled anything out yet," Peterson said. Police Lt. Tim George termed the fire "suspicious" and said arson was a possibility, although he declined to say anymore about the investigation. Anyone with information about the fire is asked to call Det. Steve Edson at 774-2233. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA