Room And Contents Fire Leads To Minor Structure Damage (Photo) -03/25/25

At approximately 12:11 PM on March 25th, 2025, Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District, along with the Sweet Home Police Department, responded to a structure fire at 1889 Kalmia Street. Initial reports indicated that there was a bedroom on fire and the residents were attempting to extinguish the fire with a garden hose through the window. Upon arrival of the first responding units there was little smoke coming from a front bedroom window and residents were still attempting to retrieve their dogs from the front door. The first engine company on scene checked the house to ensure there was no need for rescue and extinguished some "hot spots" in the bedroom. Everyone had evacuated the residence and there were no injuries reported. The fire damage appears to have been confined to the front bedroom with no extension into the attic or other rooms of the house and little to no structural damage. The investigation is still ongoing pending interviews with residents who were on scene, but initial examination suggests that the cause could have been from an electrical problem. Sweet Home Fire responded with 2 engines, 2 command vehicles, 1 brush rig and a medic unit with a total of 13 firefighters and 2 chief officers. 

Vehicle Crashes Into River With Entrapment (Photo) -03/22/25

On Saturday March 22 at approx 11:23 am a report of a Motor Vehicle Crash prompted a multi-agency response including Sweet Home Fire, Linn County Sheriff’s Office, Oregon State Police and Oregon Department of Transportation.   The single vehicle was heading East on Highway 20 near the Yukwah Campground when the vehicle plummeted off the roadway approx 30 feet down an embankment striking a tree before landing on its wheels with chest high water rushing into the vehicle.  The vehicle sustained heavy damage to the passenger compartment and was considered unstable due to the high water level.  Early reports told crews the victim was pinned in the vehicle with water up to their head.  Two off-duty firefighters from Crook County Fire and Rescue and the Ochoco Forest Service came upon the wreck and determined the victim was in a life-threatening situation.  They quickly jumped into action, freeing the victim from the vehicle and ultimately getting them safely to shore.  While we don’t normally encourage bystanders to put themselves in harm's way, these rescuers were able to use their training and knowledge to make a significant difference in the victim's outcome.  These individuals selflessly risked their own safety to prevent the victim from further harm, ensuring that the victim was not swept down the river and helping to prevent hypothermia from prolonged exposure to the frigid water. Responding crews then packaged the victim and set up a rope system to bring them safely to the roadway and the waiting ambulance. The victim appeared to have non-life threatening injuries and was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation. Responding crews from Sweet Home Fire included a Rescue Unit, Medic Unit, Support unit and 2 Command vehicles with a total of 4 on-duty personnel and an additional 9 off-duty personnel responding from home.  We would also like to thank the agencies initially dispatched but cancelled prior to arrival including Lifeflight, Linn County Search and Rescue, Lane County Search and Rescue.

5 Escape House Fire On Marks Ridge Rd (Photo) -03/21/25

At approximately 07:11 AM on March 21, 2025, Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District responded to a structure fire at 41900 Marks Ridge Rd. Upon arrival of the first responding units there was heavy fire and smoke coming from a bedroom window and through the roof near the back of a manufactured home on the property. 5 residents were outside and stated that they were in the structure when the fire started in a back bedroom. Two of the residents state that there was no power to the home and they were in the living room when one noticed flames and smoke coming from the unoccupied bedroom. They woke up the other residents in the house, gathered their pets and made their escape before the structure was completely filled with heavy smoke. After firefighters were assured that there was no one in the home, they checked that all doors and windows were closed and started extinguishing the main fire through the burned out window of the bedroom from outside. Once a water tender arrived on scene and the majority of the fire was knocked down, firefighters made entry through the front door and fully extinguished the remainder of the fire. While there was heavy smoke and heat damage throughout the structure, the most severe fire damage was kept to the corner of the home where the initial fire started and was successfully prevented from extending through the attic space to other rooms. A total of 10 firefighters responded on 3 firefighting apparatus and one medic unit. The extent of the fire spread could have been much worse had the residents not closed all of the doors after escaping the structure, helping to limit the oxygen available to the fire. The specific cause of the fire remains undetermined but is possible to have been started by a faulty portable charging device in the bedroom. 

Early Morning Fire Destroys RV (Photo) -03/18/25

Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance DIstrict was dispatched to an initial report of a barn fire at approximately 01:40 AM on the morning of March 18, 2025. Linn County Sheriff deputies arrived first on scene and reported that a camp trailer was fully involved, with multiple propane tanks exploding and the occupants had evacuated. The first arriving fire units discovered a nearly completely burned camp trailer with some exposures invlovled including a small truck, propane tanks and various small motor tools. The fire was quickly knocked down and brought under control by the first two responding fire apparatus. A medic unit was dispatched to evaluate a resident on scene with possible injuries from evacuating the camper. Engine companies from Sweet Home Fire and Mohawk Valley Fire completed extinguishment and overhaul of the site and searched for two lost pets in the fire area. 3 fire apparatus and one medic unit responded with 10 personnel from Sweet Home Fire; with an engine and tender from Mohawk Valley Fire and a tender from Brownsville Rural Fire also responding to the scene. The residents on scene state that they had recently filled several propane tanks and were using a small propane heater in the camp trailer when one resident noticed a large amount of fire suddenly coming from the line between the heater and propane tank which quickly spread to the contents of the camper. She stated that she could only just escape the camper before the interior was fully involved with smoke and fire. The residents attempted to retrieve their 2 dogs from the camper immediately but were unable to access the trailer due to severe heat and smoke. One dog remained missing after a search by fire personnel. We would like to thank our partner agencies for their quick response and hard working crews. 

Water Assist Below Green Peter Dam (Photo) -03/02/25

At approximately 1758 this evening Sweet Home Fire was dispatched to the area below Green Peter dam for a water assist. Early reports indicated two fishermen were stranded on an island with water rapidly rising. The fishermen were found to not be in immediate danger; however, they were surrounded by higher river levels and were unable to make access back to shore. Crews were able to create a plan and launch our boat at Sunnyside Park traveling up river to retrieve them. Crews accessed the fishermen and returned them to Sunnyside Park and then back to their vehicle. No injuries were reported. Sweet Home Fire responded with two command units, a medic unit, a rescue, the boat with two operators and wildland crew 21, with a total of 12 personnel.

This is a great reminder to all who visit this stretch of river that water levels can rise rapidly with little to no warning when the dam spill gates are opened. 

We would like to thank our partners at LCSO for responding to the scene and Lebanon Fire District for ambulance coverage while crews conducted the rescue operation.