FAMILY ESCAPES RAPIDLY SPREADING HOUSE FIRE

Sweet Home Fire Dist.

Occupants of a home on Willow Street in Sweet Home noticed an odor of smoke around 1:30 in the morning.  They located a fire in an attached pump house for the home's well.  Due to the freezing temperatures, they were unable to extinguish the fire themselves.  They were however able to wake the other occupants of the home and evacuate them to safety.  The fire rapidly spread through the home, and within minutes it was fully-involved.  The home is in a rare, un-hydranted area of the City which hindered the Fire District's ability to extinguish the fire.  The Incident Commander requested a second-alarm assignment, bringing mutual aid from Lebanon, Brownsville, and Halsey.  Water tenders from Sweet Home and Halsey provided the water supply which allowed firefighters to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby homes that were threatened by radiant heat and wind-driven ember showers carrying large pieces of burning debris.  Three vehicles in the driveway of the home sustained heat damage.  There were eighteen firefighters on scene, and no civilian or firefighter injuries were reported.