Redmond family roused as early-AM fire destroys shop

(Update: Comments from residents)

Redmond residents awoke to a fire in a detached shop early Thursday morning and tried to put it out, but the building was a total loss, officials said.

Redmond Fire and Rescue crews were called around 3:40 a.m. to an address in the 3600 block of North Highway 97 and arrived to find the 20-by-20-foot shop fully ablaze, said Fire Marshal Traci Cooper.

Marilee Gage, who lives on the property, said she woke up to the flames as they were creeping closer to her house, and a building in her backyard where her son was sleeping.

“I mean, my kids are my world, so when I first walked out to think that his house was on fire — I can’t even tell you that feeling,” Gage said later.

Luckily for Gage and her family, Troy Schaffner was staying in the house next door, on the same property with his dad.

He was able to jump into action and make sure the flames didn’t spread until firefighters were able to arrive.

“And I grabbed the garden hose and started spraying the house down,” Schaffner said. “Because it was too hot to be near the fire — it was burning everything.”

Schaffner said that the fire was beginning to get out of control, as some chemicals in the shop began to catch on fire.

“When I was grabbing the hose, I was worried about the acetylene lighting off.,” he said. “And I was trying to spray it off a little bit, but it got caught on fire. I was just hoping it wouldn’t blow, and then it did, and it was like a 40-foot flame that blew flames. It was crazy.”

And even though it was a scary scene, all who were sleeping nearby in the house next to the shop were able to make it out safely.

“My son when we were going was like, ‘Mom, grab stuff that’s important!’ and I said, ‘No you guys are what’s important’ — so that’s all I cared about,” Gage said.

Firefighters were able to contain the fire to the shop, which was a total loss, the fire marshal said. The nearby home was not damaged and no injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire was under investigation, and there was no initial estimate of the losses.

A total of 15 firefighters were called out, with mutual-aid help provided by Crooked River Ranch Fire and Rescue. A Pacific Power crew also was called to the scene.