Document text
Medford cannabis business loses crop, but employees unhurt in 2-alarm fire Wednesday By Kevin Opsahl Updated: Dec 14, 2022 04:09 PM A A Medford Fire Department extinguishes a two-alarm commercial structure fire at Grown Rogue Wednesday morning. [MFD photo] Hundreds of cannabis plants likely will need to be discarded in the aftermath of a two-alarm structure fire at a Medford cannabis business Wednesday. Obie Strickler, CEO of Grown Rogue, said his team of more than a dozen employees made it out safely when the fire sparked at about 7:48 a.m. Wednesday, at 655 Rossanley Drive, but hundreds of cannabis plants may have to be thrown out, and an entire storage room containing them was destroyed. Strickler looked past the lost cannabis and expressed gratitude that his staff was uninjured. “This is the first time for us,” said Strickler. “Overall, we feel — I don’t think ‘lucky’ is the right word by any stretch — but it could have been way worse. (We’re) disappointed we might lose a crop, but we’ll manage through that.” He added that Grown Rogue has insurance and is working with the agency to recover from the damage. “It will be impactful,” Stickler said. “The smoke damage will require us to completely rebuild that portion of the building.” For Stickler, “my first thought was the safety of the team.” He reported the 15 to 20 employees on site at the time of the small fire got out safely. Grown Rogue has operated in the industrial location for five years. The warehouse contains eight flower rooms for growing THC plants, none of which burned. Strickler described the incident as “a small fire,” and he was not sure of the cause, saying it is under investigation. “It was the plastic table inserts that were really smoldering, so there was a lot of smoke contained to that room,” Strickler said. Medford Fire Department’s second alarm drew resources from Jacksonville Fire Department and Jackson County Fire District 3 to help in the firefight near the intersection of Rossanley Drive and Stowe Avenue, according to updates from the fire department. The fire was fully contained by about 9:30 a.m., and investigators still were working to determine a cause as of midday Wednesday. Medford fire said the building incurred “moderate smoke damage” in the fire. “Arriving crews found a small fire and quickly extinguished it.” Stickler praised firefighters for their hard work. “They were responsive, on site quickly, put into action fast, identified where the problem was and quickly resolved it,” Strickler said. “I couldn’t be more thankful for their response and what they did to limit the scope of the impact it will have on the business.” Reach reporter Kevin Opsahl at 541-776-4476 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @KevJourno.