Eugene, OR. Eugene Springfield Fire responded to a house fire on Cross Pl North of Railroad Blvd in West Eugene Saturday afternoon. Firefighters were called by a passerby who observed smoke from the crawlspace of the home at 12:29 PM on November 16th. Firefighters from Station 2 in the Whiteaker neighborhood arrived in three and a half minutes after dispatch along with another engine, truck and battalion chief. Crews declared a working fire and requested the balance of a first alarm bringing an additional two engines, a second chief, ambulance and EMS supervisor. Firefighters immediately went to work flowing water in the crawl space while the truck accessed the structure and used saws to open the floor area to access the seat of the fire. Despite challenging access, the quick response and skill of responding firefighters saved the home and contents. Preliminary information suggests a malfunctioning wall heater ignited the fire. There were no injuries reported.
Eugene, OR. Eugene Springfield Fire is on scene of a house fire in North Eugene. At 6:24 PM on October 29th, Ladder 6 from the Sheldon station was called for an appliance fire in the 900 block of St Andrews Dr with the caller reporting the dishwasher was on fire. Arriving 5 minutes after dispatch, Ladder 6 reported a working fire and requested a full first alarm. The fire heavily damaged the kitchen and main living area of the home. There were no injuries reported and the cause is under investigation.
Eugene, OR. Eugene Springfield Fire is on scene of a structure fire near downtown Eugene. Firefighters were called to 633 W 8th St at 3:27 PM on October 29th to a reported structure fire located in an abandoned house. Firefighters arrived 3 minutes after the dispatch to find fire from the rear of the structure. The building has been previously damaged by fire and has an “unsafe” building designation from the ESF Fire Marshal. This rating system informs responding firefighter that the building is dangerous and to enter only if to save a life. Firefighters were able to confine the fire to the rear of the structure. There were no injuries reported and the fire is suspicious in nature. Firefighters has avoid human waste and used syringes on the premises when trying to conduct their duties and pick their contaminated equipment up.
Eugene, OR. Eugene Springfield Fire is on scene of a vehicle fire on Interstate 5 in the south bound lanes over Franklin Blvd in Eugene. Firefighters from ESF were dispatched to a reported vehicle fire at 11:08 AM on October 26th. Engine 4 from 5th and Centennial in Springfield was the first to arrive finding a garbage truck well involved in fire. During the fire fight, crews noticed the diesel tank had become detached and was leaking. Due to the fire’s proximity to the Willamette River, diesel leak, potential hydraulic fluid leak and potentially hazardous materials in the garbage, ESF’s Haz-Mat team from the Valley River station was called to the scene assessing and preventing further environmental impacts from the incident. ESF is being assisted by OSP, ODOT and Northwest Haz-Mat. Expect delays in the area.
Eugene, OR. Eugene Springfield Fire responded to a gas leak that forced evacuations in downtown Eugene early Friday morning. Firefighters were dispatched at 12:59 AM on October 25th to reports of a gas smell outside a cafe in the Market District located at 550 Oak St. Arriving crews smelled gas in the area and used specialized monitors that detected low levels of gas present. The first priority was to check for gas above the cafe in the Market District Commons apartments to determine if there was a life safety threat. There was gas detected in the apartment building and a full evacuation was initiated. While several crews worked to evacuate the building with the support of responding EPD officers, the truck crews forced entry in to the cafe. Once inside the cafe high levels of gas were detected and the leak was addressed.
Once the building was evacuated and the leak mitigated, crews worked to ventilate the building. Command staff coordinated with NW Natural to determine the building was safe to occupy once again. There were no injuries reported and residents were evacuated for about 2 hours. We appreciate Eugene Police for their support on this incident and want to recognize the Gordon Hotel for providing a safe space to house evacuees.