March 18--Fire destroyed all but three walls of the Kuebler's Furniture store in Roseburg, Ore., Fire Marshal Tony DiMare said today.
The fire was reported around 5 p.m. Sunday by neighbors and was still burning five hours later, fueled by furniture inside the store and the wind, DiMare said.
Kuebler's Furniture is based in Redding with a store on Churn Creek Road. The company also has a location in Salem, Ore.
The Roseburg store was on N.E. Stephens Street and was purchased by the Kuebler family in the late 1990s, according to the Roseburg NR Today web site.
Investigators were still sifting through the ashes this morning searching for a cause.
"New furniture is actually more flammable than older furniture because of the plastics" and materials, DiMare said, "so there was a heavy fuel load inside."
An employee at the Kuebler's store in Redding said store officials went to Roseburg today to assess the damage. She did not have further details.
A phone message left for Marketing Director Bil Woodford was not returned.
Woodford told the NR Today that the company will use inventory from its other warehouses to fulfill orders.
DiMare said it appears the fire started on the southeast side of the building in the vicinity of the employees' break room. A coffee pot had been on throughout the day, but employees told investigators that they thought they turned it off before leaving for the day, DiMare said.
"So that is one of the many things we will be looking at, to see if we can find the coffee pot," DiMare said.
Employees left for the day at 4:50 p.m. Sunday and the fire was dispatched about 20 minutes later, DiMare said.
The two-story building is valued at approximately $546,000 and the contents inside were estimated to be worth between $250,000 and $750,000, DiMare said.
"The contents are a total loss," he said.
One firefighter was injured battling the fire. He was taken to a local hospital where he was treated and released, DiMare said.
Kuebler's Furniture was started by Dean Kuebler, who retired in 2011 before handing over the business to his children.
The store was established in 1974 in Del Norte County before it expanded into Redding, where the company is based today.
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