Medford fire crews made short work of a fast-moving fire that destroyed an old barn near Springbrook and McAndrews roads in east Medford late Sunday afternoon.
A dark column of smoke rose in the air in the open field, and flames were shooting from the fully engulfed structure as crews arrived on scene in the 2400 block of McAndrews Road near Prescott Park at 4:30 p.m. Sunday, said Erin Sawall, acting battalion chief for Medford Fire-Rescue.
"We could see the column of smoke from the station," Sawall said.
Four engines and 16 firefighters took just four minutes to arrive, and about six minutes to douse the flames on the aged tin-roofed barn, Sawall said.
"It was an old wooden barn out in the middle of a big field and she was consumed by fire," Sawall said.
There were no injuries, and the cause of the fire remains unknown at this time. The barn was not in use and there was no electrical power to the structure, Sawall said.
A fire investigator arrived at the site shortly after the flames were extinguished, and dusk was setting in. He will return this morning, Sawall said.
"We'll get back out there in the morning when it's light and we can really poke around and see," he said.
While Medford crews were extinguishing the barn fire, there also was a report of a second fire being battled behind a power substation at Stevens and Meridian roads near Eagle Point.
Jackson County Fire District No. 3 officials say the fire appears to have been deliberately set in an allegedly stolen Jeep. The red, soft-topped vehicle was abandoned and set ablaze near a power pole at the back of the substation, said Greg Winfrey, District 3 battalion chief.
District 3 crews arrived at the scene at around 4:30 p.m. Three engines and a water tender originally were set to respond, but the first crew was able to extinguish the flames in less than five minutes, Winfrey said.
"It was easy," he said.
Crew members were unharmed battling the vehicle fire, and there are no other injuries reported at this time. But Jackson County sheriff's deputies are investigating and attempting to determine the registered owner of the vehicle, Winfrey said.
"(The Jeep) was burning and there was no one around," Winfrey said. "I believe it was stolen."
Calls to the Sheriff's Department were not immediately returned Sunday evening.
On Sunday morning, Medford Fire-Rescue responded to a structure fire in the 1800 block of Peach Street, Sawall said.
The fire started in the garage/workshop area of the home. And it was called in by the homeowner who was working in the small shop at the time the fire started. He was not injured in the fire, nor were any of the firefighters who put out the flames, Sawall said.
Sawall said the cause of the fire was not arson, but it remains under investigation. The department's fire investigator will return the Peach Street site after investigating Sunday afternoon's barn fire.
"We've sure been keeping him busy. It's been a weird fire day," Sawall said
Copyright 2012 - Mail Tribune, Medford, Ore.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
