Criticism after house outside of fire district burns to the ground
The only attack on this fire Saturday near Dorena, Oregon was by neighbors with fire hoses. One fire company did respond but turned around after learning there was no life hazard. Neighbors are now thinking about starting their own volunteer fire department after finding out the hard way that were on their own.
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Amid some criticism from neighbors and media, South Lane County Fire & Rescue Chief John Wooten on Monday released a statement explaining why fire crews did not initially respond to a weekend house fire in rural Dorena outside the fire district’s jurisdiction.
The fire district did respond with fire personnel after being alerted by 911 that the home’s victim had re-entered the burning structure and was trapped inside, Wooten said. District policy allows fire personnel to respond to fires outside its jurisdiction when a life is immediately threatened by fire, he said.
However, 911 later informed the district that the victim was out of the structure and that a rescue was no longer required, Wooten said.
“It was still my understanding that someone would eventually come out,” Shaun Phay, who lives next door. “It could take upwards of 30, 45 minutes for them to dispatch from Cottage Grove, but apparently that’s not the case. We’re on our own.”
Medics are required by state law to respond to respond, and the fire was within the ambulance service area for South Lane.
“The issue of unprotected lands is statewide, and previous efforts to resolve it by incorporating all unprotected developed areas into fire response districts has failed due to the issues surround taxes,” Wooten said.
Chief Terry Ney with Lane Fire Authority said residents outside of fire districts have a few options. They can ask the county to be annexed and pay the associated taxes to have the service of area fire crews.
