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75 °F Forecast | Road Cams Saturday, August 28, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Prime Times Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend July 25, 2004 Six fire trucks dispatched to battle sawdust blaze Firefighters battled a stubborn blaze that sprang up Saturday afternoon in a hot, dry corner of a Medford wood processing plant. The blaze ignited at about 4:30 p.m. near a conveyor belt used to move sawdust from a storage building to piles outside SierraPine in the 2600 block of North Pacific Highway, Medford Deputy Fire Chief Larry Anderson said. The flames crawled through the building’s walls and leapt up onto the roof. Fire crews initially feared flying wood dust could create an explosion, Anderson said. "These notoriously flash over," he said of sawdust fires. About 20 firefighters with six engines from Medford and Phoenix fire departments, Jackson County Fire District No. 3 and the Oregon Department of Forestry extinguished the largest portion of the blaze in about an hour and 30 minutes. However, crews continued to battle small spot fires late Saturday. Sawdust piles at the site likely would burn for days, firefighters said. Advertisement The plant’s sprinkler system helped contain the fire, and SierraPine employees started dousing the flames before fire crews arrived, Anderson said. He said he did not know if the conveyor belt was operating when the fire broke out. The cause remained under investigation late Saturday. No one was injured, but Mercy Flights paramedics tended to firefighters battling fatigue and dehydration. Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities