A Sweet Home man is dead and a woman injured while trying to save him from a burning house in a two-alarm structure fire Thursday night, March 9.
Someone called 911 just after 10 p.m. to report a house on fire near 47th Avenue and Highway 20, according to a Sweet Home Fire District news release.
Flames are visible at the scene of a two-alarm structure fire Thursday night, March 9, 2023, in Sweet Home. Fire officials reported one man was killed in the blaze.
A firefighter in charge of combating the blaze arrived at the home to find the front side engulfed in flames. A man and a woman who fled the house told the firefighter another man likely was trapped inside, according to the release.
The woman was injured after, firefighters said, she tried to reenter the home searching for the third occupant.
That occupant died in the fire.
“Unfortunately, the adult male victim did not survive,” stated the release.
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An ambulance crew transported the woman to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, according to the release.
A firetruck from Brownsville and Lebanon answered a call for support fighting the blaze, adding to Sweet Home crews responding on three firetrucks and two ambulances. A total of 20 firefighters responded, according to the release.
The department reports the fire was under control about an hour later, 11:15 p.m.
Fire officials assert the fire did not start under suspicious circumstances. The Oregon State Fire Marshal’s office was investigating the fire.
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.