Madras neighbors spray homes to stop fire’s spread

(Update: Neighbors spray homes; more details from sheriff’s office)

This is the second time Araceli Benitez has seen a fire ravage homes in her Tops Trailer Park neighborhood. But the fire Tuesday afternoon was even closer.

“Everybody just started freaking out. No one was calling the ambulance or anything, so I took the step up and called,” Benitez said Wednesday.

As soon as neighbors saw the smoke, they started spraying water on their own homes and fences to make sure the fire wouldn’t spread to their property.

“We were so worried. Actually ,our neighbor was back here with the hose, getting this trailer wet because we didn’t want it to pass on to the fence and pass on to the rest of it,” Benitez said.

Two boys, ages 10 and 7, who live at the Tops Trailer Park in Madras were arrested Tuesday evening, accused of starting the fire with lighters that destroyed four mobile homes, Jefferson County Sheriff Jim Adkins said.

Sheriff’s Lt. Tyler Anderson said there was so much smoke he couldn’t see the back alley from the front of the house.

“We had information from other residents that two little kids were playing with newspaper and a lighter on the back side of the shed that caught on fire,” Anderson said.

“Everything is really close to each other. Everything is really old — wood fence and dry grass in between them — so it doesn’t take much for multiple trailers to catch on fire,” Anderson said.

It’s unclear what will happen to the mobile homes damaged in the fire, depending on whether they are rented or owned.

The boys were issued citations in lieu of custody for reckless burning and illegal burning, Adkins told NewsChannel 21. He said the boys both admitted “they had lit a fire and it got away from them.”

The boys, unrelated friends, live several homes down from the ones that burned. They were unhurt and were released to their parents, Adkins said.

Because the boys were playing with lighters and did not intentionally attempt to burn the mobile homes, they are not charged with arson, Adkins said.

Two recent Bend-area fires were traced to children playing with matches, officials said. They did not cause injuries, but one burned a home and fence.

Adkins said Jefferson County 911 got a call shortly before 4 p.m. Tuesday about two trailers on fire at the trailer park, located at 23 NW Depot Road.

Jefferson County Fire District No. 1 responded, along with sheriff’s deputies and Madras police, he said.

The fire began in a shed between two mobile homes and quickly spread to two others, the sheriff said.

Adkins said Oregon State Police arson investigators were called in to help in the investigation.

Adkins said 17 people living in three of the mobile homes were displaced by the fire, including families of seven, six and four people. One of the trailers was unoccupied, he said. American Red Cross disaster responders were called in to assist the displaced residents with their immediate needs.

It was the fifth fire at Tops Trailer Court in the past five years, though none of the earlier ones were deemed suspicious.

A fast-moving fire in August 2013 destroyed two neighboring mobile homes and damaged a third, but everyone got out safely and no injuries were reported.

In December 2013, fire tore through one mobile home and began spreading to a second before crews were able to stop the flames.

In April 2017, a fire that began in and destroyed a vacant mobile home quickly spread and destroyed another one next door.

In February of this year, another fire destroyed a mobile home at the trailer park, but the resident was away at work and there were no injuries.