A Sweet Home man died in a house fire Thursday evening, March 9, near 47th Avenue and Main Street.
According to the Sweet Home Fire & Ambulance District, the blaze was reported shortly after 10 p.m.
An incident commander arrived on scene within five minutes of the call to find heavy fire from the structure’s front and smoke emanating from all sides.
The house is surrounded by the Paradise Motors car dealership.
The commander requested a second-alarm assignment and informed crews of a person possibly still inside the residence. A man and a woman, who were not identified, had escaped, but told firefighters that another man had not. The woman said she tried to go back for him, but couldn’t reach him, fire officials reported.
She was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. According to Sweet Home police, Matthew Tryon, 39, who was inside the home, perished.
Police Chief Jason Ogden said other residents of the home were identified as Bryan, Jacquelyn and Kimberly Tryon.
Crews brought the fire under control by 11:15 p.m. but remained on scene through the night, until an investigative team arrived Friday morning to determine its cause.
Sweet Home engaged 20 firefighters for the incident, responding with a ladder truck, three engines and a pair of chief officer vehicles. The second alarm summoned reinforcements from the Lebanon and Brownsville fire districts.
Fire Chief Nick Tyler said the Oregon State Fire Marshal’s Office and the Medical Examiner’s Office were investigating, since the fire involved a fatality.
“We have an idea of how it started and we’re processing some more evidence,” he said. “It does not appear to be suspicious at all.”