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Fiery end to Mon Desir Jackson County Fire District No. 3 firefighters sort through rubble Monday morning at the former Mon Desir Inn in Central Point. The 1910 house was destroyed by a blaze reported at 4:12 a.m. Jim Craven Tuesday Jan 12, 2010 at 12:01 AM Jan 12, 2010 at 8:47 AM An early-morning blaze that destroyed a historic home best known as the restaurant Mon Desir remains under investigation by police and fire officials. By Anita Burke An early-morning blaze that destroyed a historic home best known as the restaurant Mon Desir remains under investigation by police and fire officials. The fire at the home built in 1910 by orchardist Conro Fiero for his bride, Grace Andrews, was reported at 4:12 a.m. Monday, emergency dispatch records indicate. A Central Point police officer who had passed by just moments earlier and seen nothing raced back to find flames licking through the breezeway of the vacant building at 4:15 a.m., Central Point police Lt. Chuck Newell said. Firefighters from Jackson County Fire District No. 3 arrived four minutes later and triggered a second alarm to summon crews from Jackson County Fire District No. 5, Medford and Jacksonville. In all, about 30 firefighters battled the blaze, said Don Hickman, District 3's deputy fire marshal. District 3 Capt. Mike Calhoun said flames lined the front of the house when he and his crews arrived. Dense, black smoke roiled from the attic. He speculated that the fire might have burned through the house from a rear patio by the time it was noticed. Knowing that the 100-year-old home, which housed one of the Rogue Valley's top fine-dining destinations for roughly half a century, was "like a maze inside," Calhoun opted to battle the fire from outside rather than risk lives by sending firefighters into the structure. Bringing the blaze under control took nearly three hours. Central Point police closed Beebe Road and part of Hamrick Road in front of the historic restaurant at 4615 Hamrick. Beebe Road remained closed through much of the morning as a large fire hose snaked across the asphalt to a hydrant on the south side of the road. As gray smoke drifted from the smoldering remains Monday morning, firefighters collaborated with heavy equipment crews from Knife River Corp. to lift charred roof and floor beams that had collapsed into the building's basement in places. They also toppled the unsupported brick chimney from a central fireplace because it was in danger of falling and sending bricks scattering to earth. He said investigators needed to make the scene safe so they could get in and examine potential evidence related to the cause of the fire. The building did have power, so an electrical problem or a human cause were among the possibilities, he said Monday morning. After the first day of examining the scorched ruins, investigators still didn't have a clear idea of where or how the fire started, Newell said. "We're in the middle of the investigation," he said. "A lot of people are working on it." After learning of the fire, property owner Edic Sliva, who founded Santa Clara microelectronics firm Microlux nearly two decades ago, said he would like to continue with a project centered on the historic building once the economy rebounds. Sliva and his wife, Lisa Tollner, bought the roughly 2.5-acre property the historic home sat on in June 2005 for $1.7 million. They also own nearly 2 acres in two parcels next to it. In January 2006, Sliva announced plans to convert the restaurant into a clubhouse to serve a 70-unit townhouse development to be called Mon Desir Estates on the surrounding 4-plus acres. By spring 2007, the project had been scaled back to a planned 30 townhouse condos with retail in the historic building, but construction never started. A Medford wedding planner proposed leasing and restoring the space as a venue for wedding ceremonies and receptions in 2008, but never got beyond an occasional karaoke potluck in the restaurant's old bar. A filmmaker attempted to film a horror movie at the Tudor revival-style mansion in 2007 and 2008, but lacked financial backing. The last attempt to revive a restaurant at the location foundered in 2005 under William Link, who owned Panther Crushing and the Shenandoah Inn on Highway 62. The building had a long history of hosting special occasion dinners, including innumerable local proms, reunions, weddings and anniversaries. Mon Desir first opened after World War II and Alex and Julie Tummers operated it for nearly two decades. In 1966, Stan and Tommie Smith of Medford bought Mon Desir and continued the fine-dining tradition until 1979. "This was the place to go," Hickman recalled. "It's tragic. This was a landmark in the Rogue Valley." The mansion that had been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1981 is also the latest in a string of historic building lost to fire — including Phoenix's 153-year-old Colver House and a 150-year-old historic farmhouse in the Rogue Valley's first commercial pear orchard — both in 2008. "It is a fragile resource," Ashland historic preservation consultant George Kramer said of the old buildings. "Vacant, old, wood buildings don't have any protection from fire or elements," he said, noting that the former Mon Desir was especially vulnerable in its semi-rural location. "Every time we lose one to fire, the only lesson is that we should think twice before we tear one down." With a plethora of details that show the passage of time, a historic building is impossible to replicate, he explained, noting that any attempt is likely to be very expensive. Sliva, who plans to come to Central Point to evaluate the property, said he would like to restore the property if possible. "The reason my wife and I bought the Mon Desir property is that we fell in love with the historical part of the building," Sliva said Monday morning from his home in the south Bay Area community of Monte Sereno. "It's not just another building we owned. It was something close to our heart and we looked forward to rebuilding it. It was the centerpiece of the development and the keystone of the project." He said the building was insured as a requirement of loans he has against the property. Jackson County records show that Sliva has a $1 million loan and a $2.1 million line of credit, both from PremierWest, on the property. Both have been extended several times and are currently due in October 2011. In December 2008, he assigned rents from the property to the bank and the building is currently listed as for lease with Pulver & Leever, a commercial real estate firm. Reach reporter Anita Burke at 541-776-4485, or e-mail [email protected]. Reporter Greg Stiles contributed to this story.