Medford, Ore. — A 3rd alarm fire broke out early Wednesday morning in downtown Medford in the area of West Fifth Street and North Fir Street.
Medford, Ore. — A 3rd alarm fire broke out early Wednesday morning in downtown Medford in the area of West Fifth Street and North Fir Street.
Eleven engines were called in at about 2 am. All Medford crews as well as Fire District 3, 5, and Jacksonville Fire.
The fire was limited to a commercial structure. Officials say it is a complete loss.
Medford Fire Deputy Chief Justin Bates said the building was an older building and very unstable, posing a safety hazard to fire fighters “The roof is collapsed and kind of pushed the walls out, so that’s why you see bricks spread all around, which is kind of a safety thing. That’s why we’re doing a surround ground on this, nobody is going inside the building.”
According to Michele Jaynes, who witnessed the fire from his Mail Tribune office, the fire started to spread to nearby trees “It was going up past the tree there and we took some pictures on our phone, that’s when the building started collapsing and fire scattered back.”
Investigators are on scene and the cause is still unknown.
Multiple roads in the area have been closed due to the firefighting efforts. No estimated time of reopening.
Stay with NBC 5 News online and on-air as we continue to gather information on this developing story.
This page will be updated with new information as we get it.
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