No one was injured but several buildings appeared heavily burned at an Albany plant nursery after, bystanders said, a fire spread from a pile of plant debris to a house and sheds.
Shaun Stark said he saw fire spread Monday afternoon, June 12 from pine needles to plastic planters, then to a residence at U & D Trucking & Nursery, 3435 Kathryn Ave. in Albany.
A man and woman were inside the house when it caught fire, Stark said. He said he ran through the door and started yelling.
“I was like, ‘Get out! Your house is burning down!'” Stark said.
An Albany Fire Department firefighter uses a hose to spray water onto a burning house at 3436 Kathryn Ave. NE, where responders battled a multistructure fire on Monday afternoon, June 12, 2023, in Albany.
Someone called 911 just after 2 p.m. to report a house fire. Flames and smoke were pouring from an about 900-square foot house and at least two other buildings about 15 minutes later.
Albany Fire Department classified the blaze as a first-alarm structure fire, responding with an engine from each of the department’s four stations and a ladder truck. More than 20 firefighters responded.
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Lebanon Fire District sent an ambulance to stand by in Albany for emergency calls while Albany’s firefighters were at the nursery fire, in line with the agreements between departments to provide aid.
An Albany fire spokesperson at the scene said no injuries were reported. Emergency responders were still at the fire by about 5 p.m.
Albany Fire Department firefighters stage in the lawn of a house at 3436 Kathryn Ave. NE on Monday afternoon, June 12, 2023, in Albany.
“We’re getting a few restarts. We’ll be out there as long as we keep getting those,” Albany Fire spokesperson Sandy Roberts said at deadline.
The agency was unable to say how many people were in the house or how the fire started. A deputy fire marshal was investigating the fire’s cause, Roberts said.
Firefighters in three layers of firefighting equipment, each hauling about 80 pounds of gear, were working hard in early afternoon heat as it reached 87 degrees, Roberts said.
“The fire was hard on our people, but we had no injuries,” Roberts said.
One greenhouse was lost and three other structures damaged, she added.
Albany Fire Department firefighters leave a structure where they fought a fire in a house at 3436 Kathryn Ave. NE on Monday afternoon, June 12, 2023, in Albany.
“There is significant damage to the house,” Roberts said.
Roberts said the department offers free fire safety checks to ensure Albany buildings have defensible space between structure and vegetation.
Alex Powers (he/him) covers agri-business, Benton County, environment and city of Lebanon for Mid-Valley Media. Call 541-812-6116 or tweet @OregonAlex.