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Old houses will be bulldozed, not burned for training By CHRIS BRISTOL Though spared a fiery farewell, the fate of five dilapidated houses in west Medford remains sealed. The Medford Fire Department recently abandoned plans to torch the eyesores, located on West 10th Street by the downtown Justice Center, after neighbors complained about the potential for toxic smoke from layers and layers of lead paint. But that doesn't mean the houses were saved. Jackson County bought the buildings last year strictly for the property, which the county plans to use for parking. "We're going to demolish them," Sue Slack, acting county administrator, explained. "The value of the property for us is in the land." The county had offered the houses to the fire department for real-world "burn to learn" training. In return, the county would have saved on the cost of having the buildings razed. But then a group of neighbors came forward with concerns about the training exercise, which would have sent plumes of smoke drifting over the area. Although asbestos had been removed from the buildings already, the neighbors cited exposure to lead contaminants in the air as a health concern. The houses were old, with layers of paint that possibly predated modern safety regulations. After meeting with the group, Medford Fire Chief Dave Bierwiler decided it was better to be safe than sorry. "We couldn't find anything concrete to take away their fears," he said. "Ultimately, there was no compelling reason to go ahead with the project." Slack estimated it could cost the county more than $50,000 to hire a contractor to bulldoze the houses and haul away the rubble. "It would have saved us substantial money," she said of the burn practice. "We're sorry it didn't work out." No deadline is set. The county needs more parking to make room for a new juvenile justice center and lockup, but that project is indefinitely on hold after failing at the ballot box. The county also bought three more houses another block west on 10th Street for parking. One of those houses was bought by someone who intends to move it. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA