(MERLIN) Firefighters with Rural Metro Fire, Grants Pass Firefighters, ODF Southwest Oregon District, Jackson County Fire District #1 and Applegate Valley Fire District waged an aggressive assault on a fire that involved a home, several vehicles and one-tenth acre of surrounding grass July 8, 2023 at 4:45 p.m.
The first report came from someone stopping by Rural Metro’s North Valley Station on Monument Drive. The crew stepped outside and observed a large black column of smoke to the SW of the station. Having yet to receive a 911 call from someone on scene to provide an address, firefighters searched the Saratoga Way neighborhood until access was found off South Pass Rd. There they found the home fully involved and spreading.
A helicopter from ODF was utilized to help contain the spread and eliminate any threat to nearby homes. The fire reached a third-alarm equivalent, bringing in the additional crews from Jackson County to help relieve exhausted fire crews. One RMF firefighter was taken to the hospital by AMR-Josephine County for evaluation of heat exhaustion, and has since been released.
The fire is currently under investigation with assistance from the Oregon State Fire Marshal.
There were no other injuries reported. However during mop-up operations, firefighters observed several Koi fish in one of three portable ponds, struggling in the contaminated water from the fire debris and intense heat. Firefighters worked to drain the damaged pond down to make it easier to scoop up the fish, and ultimately transferred seven of them into a different pond.
Units from the Illinois Valley Fire District moved into the Grants Pass area to help cover additional calls during this incident.
