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Crown Market blaze sends firefighter to hospital Thursday Aug 17, 2017 at 8:58 AM Aug 17, 2017 at 4:53 PM Ryan Pfeil Mail Tribune @RyanPfeil A firefighter was taken to the hospital Wednesday night for smoke inhalation he suffered while fighting a two-alarm fire at a Crown Market convenience store. The fire, at 3509 S. Pacific Highway, Medford, was reported at 11:38 p.m., emergency dispatch records show. The injured firefighter, one of the first on scene, was injured soon after crews started spraying the flames with water. "A big puff of steam and smoke came back at them, and he breathed a bunch of that and started experiencing throat pain and constricting of his throat," said Medford Fire-Rescue Deputy Chief Justin Bates. Crews transported him to the hospital for treatment, where he was released after a couple of hours. "He's going to be fine," Bates said. A second alarm was called because the fire was burning a commercial structure, with a considerable amount of smoke and flames coming from the rear of the building. Nine vehicles responded, with mutual aid from Jackson County fire districts 5 and 3. About 20 firefighters responded, Bates said. "We had a majority of the fire knocked down in about 12 minutes," Bates said, adding crews had to then sift through burned debris and tear into some walls to make sure flames hadn't spread to other hard-to-spot portions of the store. The flames caused significant damage to the rear of the business and the roof, with smoke and heat damage in the main part of the store, Bates said. A damage estimate was not immediately available. Store officials could not be immediately reached for comment. — Reach reporter Ryan Pfeil at 541-776-4468 or [email protected]. Follow him at www.twitter.com/ryanpfeil.