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Woman dies in fire; husband is hospitalized Neighbor tries without success to rescue her By JIM DAVIS An elderly woman was killed late Monday when she and her husband were trapped in a their burning home in northeast Medford. Mary Phipps is believed to be the victim in the blaze. Her husband, Joe Phipps, was listed in critical condition at Providence Medford Medical Center, a nursing supervisor said. Jeff Roemmich, a neighbor, crawled into the smoke-filled home searching for Mary Phipps, but was forced out by the smoke after making it just a few yards into the house. "It's frustrating," Roemmich said. "You're looking and you're looking for somebody, and you want to find her, and she wasn't there." The fire at 2049 Amy St. was reported at 9:16 p.m. Monday, said Medford Fire Chief Dave Bierwiler. Firefighters could see the smoke and fire when they left the station, he said. "When we got toned out we were told there were two elderly people possibly trapped inside the home," Bierwiler said. He did not know a cause of the fire, and a damage estimate was unavailable. About 9:15 p.m., Roemmich said he looked through the front window of his home and saw flames coming out from the back of the Phippses' house, which was across the street. He ran to David and Julie Creager's house, next door to the Phippses', to let them know there was a fire. David Creager stepped out of his home. "I saw the street all lit up and the smoke and we went out back and got the hose," he said. Creager and Roemmich used two hoses to try to douse flames coming from the back roof. Roemmich, a produce clerk at Food 4 Less, ran to the front of the home when his wife yelled that people were trapped inside. He saw Joe Phipps stagger out a door in the garage, and he helped him to a pickup truck, where Phipps collapsed. Phipps kept saying that his wife was in the hallway, kept asking people to get her. Roemmich went to the garage door. "As soon as I opened the door there was just this rush of black smoke," Roemmich said. "He said she was right there and I had to at least look for her." Roemmich fell to his knees and crawled inside. He said smoke stung his eyes. He kept feeling for Mary Phipps but couldn't find her. He made it five or six yards into the home. "I expected to see here right there and I couldn't find her," Roemmich said. "She wasn't right there." Roemmich, who was wearing a T-shirt and sweatpants and whose face and arms were covered with smoke, fled the home and found a firefighter. He told the firefighter that Mary Phipps was in the home. Donna Silva, another neighbor, was helping with Joe Phipps. She said he was coughing and having a hard time breathing. She made him lie in the yard and laid a blanket over him to prevent shock. "I thought I was going to have to do CPR," Silva said. She said the Phippses have lived in the home for six or seven years. She said Mary Phipps had osteoporosis and had trouble getting around. Bierwiler said firefighters had the blaze under control within 10 minutes. Firefighters donned protective clothing and oxygen tanks and couldn't find the woman until their second search through the home. Bierwiler said the firefighters endured extremely high temperatures and smoke in the rescue attempt. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA