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Neighbors were lucky Blaze guts adjoining duplex, but fire wall halts it By Jill Briskey CENTRAL POINT � The black smell of smoke lingers along Columbine Way, but not inside the home of Heather and Matt Warner. "You can�t even smell it," Heather Warner said, sniffing at a couch pillow. "We were lucky." The front door to the couple�s duplex � which was torn down by firefighters Sunday in a frantic efforts to get inside � looks as good as new. A vacuum made quick work of little tufts of insulation left on the floor after crews searched the attic for any sign of fire. The next-door neighbors, however, weren�t so lucky. No amount of fresh air will lift the odor from the gutted structure, Matt Warner figures. "It was completely burnt," he said. "You could see the framing in the wall." According to Captain Robert Walters of Jackson County Fire District 3, crews responded to a report of fire at 833 Columbine Way at around 5:45 p.m. Sunday. Within minutes, the blaze was extinguished, Walters said. The bedroom was destroyed, and the rest of the home was heavily damaged from water and smoke, he said. A neighbor called 911 after hearing glass breaking, Walters said, adding that the duplex windows probably broke as the fire consumed all of the oxygen. Almost all of the home�s contents � which had an estimated value of $20,000 � were destroyed, he said. Walters said the occupants weren�t at home when the fire broke out in the bedroom. The cause of the blaze is still under investigation. Walters thinks the fire could have been smoldering for several hours. Walters was pleased that the adjoining residence � where the Warner�s live � wasn�t damaged. Heather Warner credits their luck to the layers of fire wall added inside their home. She said another neighbor may have averted disaster by spraying their home with a garden hose before crews arrived. "That saved us," she said. "We weren�t even home ... we were having dinner in Grants Pass." The blaze caused minor damage to a duplex on the other side, Walters said. Flames and heat caused an estimated $1,600 in damages to a window and fence, he said. Property owner Benjamin Zare of Ashland estimates fire damage at about $80,000. He said one of the renters is staying with friends. Zare doesn�t know where the second occupant is staying. "They haven�t been there since Sunday," Zare said, adding that he plans to make repairs soon. "As soon as the fire marshal does the investigation and we talk with the insurance (personnel)." Reach reporter Jill Briskey at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.