Document text
Fire harms home in east Medford A Medford woman escaped unharmed Sunday evening when a fire broke out in her east Medford home. Five Medford fire engines and 16 firefighters rolled to the 9:15 p.m. alarm at 1116 Reddy Ave., two blocks east of Crater Lake Avenue. Teresa Hogan said she was upstairs when she noticed the fire in a covered patio at the rear of the house. "When I looked out the back window, cardboard boxes by the barbecue were burning," she said. "Unfortunately, I was upstairs," said Hogan, who has lived in the house for about 4 years. "And by the time I saw it, it was too late to do anything." Medford Fire Chief Dave Bierwiler said the fire started near a propane tank and a barbecue grill, but the cause had not been determined. Bierwiler said he did not know whether the grill had been used recently. "We're going to have to do some investigating," he said, "to see what actually happened." Bierwiler said the first firefighters to arrive called in a second alarm because the fire threatened overhead power lines and an adjacent house at 1120 Reddy Ave. With the second alarm, all five Medford fire engines were committed to the fire. Under mutual aid agreements, fire engines from Jackson County Fire District 3 moved to Medford to provide fire protection for the city. Bierwiler said the fire and smoke caused extensive damage to the house and its contents, but he had no dollar estimate Sunday night. Hogan said she was worried about the fate of a 1920s-era piano in the house, but hoped it would escape major damage, because most of the fire was in the back of the house. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA