Eugene House Fire Leaves One Hospitalized in Serious Condition
A duplex fire near Royal Ave and Fisher Road sent two people to PeaceHealth RiverBend after a passerby spotted flames taller than the house just before 3 a.m.
A passerby's 3 a.m. call brought Eugene Springfield Fire racing to a fully engulfed home at the intersection of Royal Avenue and Fisher Road in west Eugene on Monday, Feb. 2, after the caller described flames climbing higher than the house itself.
Engine 7 from Barger was the first to arrive and began a defensive fire attack. Engine 7's crew found two occupants outside, who were transported to PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend in stable condition. Reports from some outlets described one person hospitalized in serious condition, but Eugene Springfield Fire's own incident report and the majority of local news coverage confirmed two occupants were transported, both in stable condition.
The intersection sits about a mile north of Highway 126 and two miles west of Green Hill Road. The fire was located west of Eugene in the Zumwalt Rural Fire Protection District, one of six districts Eugene Springfield Fire serves outside city limits.
The scale of the response reflected how quickly the structure became uncontrollable. ESF dispatched five engines, two tenders, one truck, two medics, two chiefs, two fire marshals, and one support unit to the scene. Lane Fire Authority provided a fire engine and medic to assist. The deployment of two tenders signals the challenges of rural firefighting west of Eugene, where hydrant access is limited and water must be shuttled to the scene.
The structure was described in various reports as both a house and a duplex. Eugene Springfield Fire has not released a formal classification of the building type, and no damage estimate has been provided.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Two fire marshals were among the personnel who responded, and investigators were on scene. A GoFundMe has been established to assist the occupants with their recovery, though no link or fundraising total had been released as of publication.
Anyone with information about the fire can contact Eugene Springfield Fire at 541-682-5111.
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