House in Rainbow burns

RAINBOW: Last Sunday was a busy day for the Upper McKenzie Rural Fire Department. At approximately 8:13 p.m. a call came in for a house fire on the corner of Mill Creek Road and McKenzie River Drive. One minute later a second caller reported a fall injury occurred at a separate location on McKenzie River Drive, followed by a third call at 8:27 p.m. for a possible stroke nearby.

When firefighters arrived on the scene, heavy smoke and flames were visible from the second floor and the homeowners were not there.

To fight the fire, Upper McKenzie responded with 10 volunteers in 2 Engines, 1 tender, 2 medical vehicles, and one command vehicle. Due to the complexity of the fire mutual aid was requested from McKenzie Fire and Rescue, Eugene and Springfield Fire, Mohawk Valley Fire, Pleasant Hill/Goshen Fire, Oregon Department of Forestry, and Lane County Sheriffs.

The fire took roughly 30+ personnel nearly 4 hours to extinguish and required nearly 15,000 gallons of water to extinguish. The house was a total loss but several key rooms on the lower level were able to be saved. The cause of the fire is still to be determined and the estimated value of the damage was estimated at $300,000.

“Calls like these require a lot of different personnel to help and Upper McKenzie is always looking for more volunteers to help within our community,” notes Upper McKenzie Fire Department Chief Joel Zeni. “A huge thank you to all our volunteers, mutual aid partners, and community members for their help.”