Douglas County Fire District No. 2 responded to a reported structure fire at 401 N. Comstock #19 in Sutherlin Sunday morning. Firefighters received the call at 10:58 hrs. and arrived on scene at 11:03 hrs. Firefighters arrived to find a single wide manufactured home over 70% involved with fire and threatening adjacent homes and fences. Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire which completely destroyed the home and contents.
The home was occupied by Tiffany Curley who was home at the time of the fire with her small child. Curley reported seeing a fire in her bedroom which spread quickly to the rest of the home.
Fire District No. 2 responded with two engines and one command unit and 18 firefighters. Fire District No. 2 received assistance with a fire engine and four personnel from Oakland Rural Fire Protection District, and one Chief Officer from the City of Roseburg. Pacific Power and Avista Utilities also responded to the scene. A total of 23 personnel responded to the fire. Battalion Chief Roger Johnson said, “We had a great turnout of paid and volunteer firefighters respond to the scene”. Fire District No. 2 utilizes a combination of on duty paid firefighter paramedics, off duty paid personnel, volunteer firefighters, and mutual and automatic aid from other agencies in the Sutherlin area. Fire District No. 2 also utilizes CERT (community emergency response team) volunteers to provide support for firefighters and victims at emergency incidents.
Douglas County Fire District No.2 Investigators have determined that the most probable cause of Sunday’s fire was combustible materials to close to a space heater. The fire is believed to have started in the back bedroom of the single wide mobile home. The space heater that caused the fire was inadvertently left on by the home owners. DCFD2 would like to remind the public that all bedding, clothing, furniture, and other combustible materials should be kept at least three feet away from heat sources like space heaters, stoves or fire places. Homeowners are also encouraged to make sure ensure everyone in the home can escape a fire by having working smoke alarms on every bedroom, hallways, and other common areas of their homes, and a well known and practiced escape plan for the whole family.