April 02--The emergency response to an Applegate house fire Tuesday night was cut short when an engine's right front tire broke through the rotting wood of an access bridge and ground the vehicle to a halt.
Units from Applegate Fire District 9 received the call for a fire at 11255 Highway 238 at about 10:30 p.m. Units responded and could see flames before they arrived on scene.
"Crews, as they were arriving downriver, they could see the amount of involvement on a fairly large house," said Applegate Fire Chief Brett Fillis. "It was fairly well-involved at this point."
The first unit eased onto the bridge, which had been built with a steel sub-structure and wood decking, and began to roll across.
"As they were going across the bridge, the front right tire went through the bridge, ending their response, and ending everybody else's response," Fillis said.
Crews placed shoring underneath the truck and dumped the water it was carrying to lighten the vehicle by about 8,000 pounds. Two tow trucks were able to pull the vehicle off the bridge, undamaged. No one was hurt.
One man was at the home and was able to make it out unhurt. Fillis said he was alerted to the fire by smoke detectors.
"He got out with the clothes he had on pretty much," Fillis said.
The house is a total loss. Fillis estimated at least $400,000 in damage to the home and its contents. He doubts crews would have been able to save the structure if they had made it across the bridge because of how quickly the flames had already spread. The owner does not have insurance, Fillis said.
The access bridge had last been assessed in 2007, but the wood had rotted substantially since then. It had been built to bear a load of about 50,000 pounds, well above the 34,000-pound weight of the stuck truck. But regular maintenance is also required to keep that capacity because of the wear on the wood, Fillis said.
"Bridges are sort of notorious for this," he said. "In Oregon, it's one of the top couple issues that the state fire chiefs have been looking at."
The fire's cause remains under investigation.
-- Ryan Pfeil
Copyright 2014 - Mail Tribune, Medford, Ore.
