2 bodies found in rubble of Springfield commercial fire

SPRINGFIELD, Ore. (AP) — The bodies of two people were found during an investigation into a large commercial fire on Springfield’s Main Street early Friday morning, police said.

Fire crews responded to the blaze at about 4:15 a.m., KEZI-TV reported. Four storefronts were involved, but crews were able to save the businesses Domn8 Motors and the Greener Side of Life. The structures in between collapsed.

Officials said the bodies are of a woman and a man, and detectives believe they had been sleeping in one of the vacant buildings. They have yet to be identified.

Several hours after the fire started, Eugene Springfield Fire Deputy Chief Mike Caven said investigators learned several unhoused people were camping nearby, and two people apparently staying in the encampment hadn’t been found, The Register-Guard reported.

The Lane County Medical Examiner’s office is working to determine cause of death. The fire’s cause is under investigation.