MEDFORD, Ore. – Medford Fire responded to a structure fire in the early morning hours of February 18th, which resulted in one person being transported to the hospital.
Medford fire said around 3:30 am, it got a call about an apartment complex on fire with multiple people trapped inside.
The heavily involved structure fire was on 335 South Ivy Street in Medford.
Crews said most of the people inside the building were able to get out before firefighters arrived.
A neighbor who was on the scene before firefighters arrived, described the situation as chaotic.
“We kept hearing pops and booms, so I opened up my bedroom window and I could see the flames coming up from the house. There were a lot of flames and smoke, there were a lot of people screaming and yelling, it sounded like people were hurt,” said Christi Maclaren.
Firefighters said because it was the middle of the night, the fire was allowed to grow significantly before anybody called it in.
The building was a large residence built in the 1920s that had been converted into six apartments.
Firefighters said the layout of the apartments made it difficult for firefighters to get in and make sure nobody was left inside.
“Some of these houses that are converted to multiple unit apartments, just by the nature of doing that these buildings are cut up, it makes it a little more difficult to find access and understand what the layout is from the outside of the building,” said Jason John, Battalion Chief with Medford Fire.
The Battalion Chief said one person was rescued from the second floor of an apartment and transported to the hospital.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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