Fire destroyed a Liberty Road home early Saturday morning, July 15.
Firefighters responded to the reported fire at 28933 Liberty Road at 12:33 a.m.
The caller had reported flames from the back window of the home, said Battalion Chief Eli Harris. One of the neighbors went and pounded on the front door. Getting nervous, the neighbor broke down the front door. No flames were in the front living room area, and no one was home at the time.
The occupant, Elric Benson, was away and had his dogs with him, Harris said. The house, a 1973 manufactured home, was fully involved in minutes.
The Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District used three water tenders to shuttle water to the fire from Sweet Home, Harris said. “We wanted a massive amount of water just to cool it,” protecting a neighboring home and a tree. “We needed a lot of water, and we got a lot of water.”
The home was a total loss, Harris said, estimating the value of the structure at $2,000 to $6,000 and the contents at $1,000 to $2,000.
Harris believes the fire originated in the back bedroom based on witness reports and the severity of the fire damage, he said. The cause remains undetermined, and the investigation is continuing.
Responding were 11 firefighters with three tenders, one engine, an ambulance and a brush rig.
No one was injured by the fire.
Sunday, hot brakes caused two fires along Highway 228 southwest of Sweet Home.
SHFAD and Oregon Department of Forestry Sweet Home Unit responded to reports of multiple fires along Highway 228 at 4:33 p.m.
Harris said ODF firefighters extinguished two fires, one on the southeast side of the road near Valley View Drive and another on the southeast side of the highway a little northeast of Fern Ridge Road near Holley.
The Valley View fire was 3 to 5 feet in diameter, Harris said, while the one near Fern Ridge was around a quarter acre.
“ODF was good on both, put water on them early,” Harris said. SHFAD firefighters checked the road out to Brush Creek Road near Crawfordsville but found no additional fires.
Investigators believe the cause was hot brakes, Harris said. A single stuttering skid mark was visible along the southeast side of the highway.