Quick action saves home

Quick response by firefighters at the Squaw Creek substation saved a home in Squaw Creek Canyon Estates from being totally destroyed by fire on Monday, September 11.

Although a photo caption in The Nugget on September 13 indicated that the house was "gutted," the fire was, in fact, confined to the roof and attic, according to Sisters fire chief Don Rowe.

The roof did fall in on one bedroom, because of water saturation, Rowe said, but most of the living quarters and the owners' possessions escaped serious damage.

"If it hadn't been for having that station out there, and those volunteers, that house would have been gutted -- or gone," Rowe said.

According to the fire chief, response time from the Squaw Creek station was somewhere between five and 10 minutes.

It would have taken quite a bit longer to respond from Sisters.

According to Rowe, the Squaw Creek station firefighters had the blaze knocked down by the time Sisters' crews arrived.

The flames ignited a nearby juniper tree and Rowe said that the fire could easily have gotten out of hand in the grasses surrounding the home and caught other structures on fire.

The fire was apparently electrical in origin, Rowe said.

Those interested in volunteering for the fire department may call 549-0771.