Fire damages Madras home; Red Cross called in to assist resident with housing

MADRAS, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A fire heavily damaged a Madras home on Wednesday and displaced a resident, Jefferson County Fire and EMS reported.

Fire crews were dispatched around 11:45 a.m. to the report of a building on fire in the Fairgrounds Road area, said Deputy Chief of Prevention Jared Earnest.

Deputies arrived first and confirmed all occupants were out of the building, Earnest said. Fire crews arrived shortly after and discovered a single-family dwelling with an attachment on the north side actively burning, with flames moving underneath and into the structure.

Crews set up for offensive operations and were able to bring the fire under control within a half-hour, Earnest said in a news release.

Crews were challenged initially by having to gain access underneath the home to extinguish the fire located under the structure. They remained on scene for an additional hour to conduct overhaul operations.

During the fire, Warm Springs Fire and Safety provided mutual aid medical coverage for the fire district and a personnel callback was issued to provide district staffing.

One person was living in the structure and was not injured. The American Red Cross was contacted to assist the person with housing, as the fire damaged the structure to the extent that water and power had to be shut off.

Earnest said Jefferson County Fire and EMS would like to thank the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, Warm Springs Fire and Safety, Pacific Power and Deschutes Valley Water for their assistance during the incident.   

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Oregon State Fire Marshal's Office, earnest said.