Sisters businessman sues fire district

A Sisters businessman has filed a lawsuit against the Sisters-Camp Sherman Rural Fire Protection District seeking $20,500 in damages stemming from a February 1995 fire department training exercise in the Sisters Industrial Park.

During the course of training, members of the department sprayed Phos-Chek fire retardant on logs belonging to Handcrafted Log Homes. Owner Ed Adams claims he was forced to close his business while the logs were tested to determine whether they would be suitable for use in residential construction.

Adams filed suit just recently because the period of time during which he could file suit was about to elapse.

Fire district insurance representative Bob Murch said the fire district acknowledges that the incident occurred and has made a small settlement offer.

But, Murch said, "we are waiting for proof of actual damage to the logs."

If the logs were safe to use in residential construction, Murch said, "It would tend to diminish the value of their claim," regardless of whether Adams was reasonable in taking the precaution of testing the logs.

Adams' attorney, Philip Henderson, disagrees.

"When the log deck was sprayed my client called the manufacturer (Monsanto), but they wouldn't guarantee the logs wouldn't be a problem. There was no way to tell until they were tested," Henderson said.

Henderson said that Adams' primary damages resulted from having to close the business during the testing, and while waiting for substitute logs and having to move the sprayed log deck to make room for the substitute logs.

Murch said that he works with 190 fire districts that all have used some form of the fire retardant Phos-Chek for well over 20 years. The retardant is used in gas- or electric-caused house fires where water is not sufficient to douse the flames.

"It is basically a soap solution. If you're exposed to it you treat by washing it off; it is only hazardous if you drink it," Murch said.

According to Murch, fire district personnel washed off the logs. Then Adams, a representative of the fire district and a claims representative, inspected the logs.

"They could not find any stains or odor or any evidence of the spray or anything to indicate a residual effect," Murch said. "There wasn't any reason to be fearful -- most people wouldn't have been."

Attorney Henderson said that the central issue was not the extent to which the logs were contaminated.

"The real proof of damages is a combination of things that were done to the business," he said.

According to Henderson, the business suffered "immediate down time of a couple of days" after the event. Then Adams was forced to reorganize the log yard which also took a couple of days, and then substitute other logs, pending test results.

Adams also charges that fire district employees violated his civil rights.

"They should be accountable for what they do and respect people's property rights," Henderson said.

Although Murch emphasized that "fear, in and of itself, does not create a claim," he added that his company was looking for a fair way to settle the claim.