A Lebanon man died late Saturday night, Oct. 22, after a fire started in his double-wide mobile home in rural Lebanon.
LFD did not immediately identify the victim.
The occupant’s roommate was able to escape the blaze and call 911. The Lebanon Fire District incident commander learned that there was a possibility of a victim in the home with a dog and arrived at the location on Mount Hope Road in Lacomb to find the mobile home fully involved.
The IC quickly determined the residence was untenable for survivability and that he would not send firefighters inside the structure, making it a defensible fire, the LFD reported in a statement.
Firefighters were able to train fire streams into the building from the outside, noticing several places in the roof area had collapsed. The IC requested two additional water tenders from neighboring departments to bring water to the scene. After several hours firefighters had the blaze under control but still could not make access into the structure, due to the amount of damage.
Firefighters were able to use a track hoe from the county to help pull the collapsed roof from the building.
Firefighters were able to locate the victim once the collapsed metal roofing was removed. The dog was never found by firefighters and as of Monday it was unknown whether it had escaped.
The Oregon State Fire Marshal’s office, Linn County Sheriff’s office and the Lebanon Fire Investigation Team worked together for the investigation.
Due to the extent of the damage and structural instability from the fire the cause was undetermined after the investigation, the LFD said. No firefighters were hurt during the incident and an Albany ambulance was brought to the scene to evaluate the second occupant of the building.
Lebanon Fire responded with 19 personnel on one engine, one ladder truck, two ALS ambulances, one BLS unit, two water tenders, one heavy rescue and a rehab vehicle for firefighters. Four staff officers responded as well.
Lebanon Fire District was assisted at the scene by Linn County Road Department as well and the County Sheriff’s office for traffic and to maintain the scene. Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District and Scio Fire District provided water tenders, and the Albany Fire Department provided an engine and medic unit to provide coverage for the Lebanon community.
The Lebanon Fire District would like to remind residents to check smoke detectors and, if using a wood fireplace or stove, to make sure it and its flue are well-maintained.