Emergency Crews Respond to Serious Crash and House Fire Christmas Morning
Emergency first responders were put to work on Christmas morning after back-to-back incidents activated both on-duty and off-duty crews from multiple agencies.
On Monday at 7:45 a.m., a report of a crash in the 800-block of Southside Road near Murphy resulted in a prolonged extrication of the driver after a vehicle rolled off the road and into a tree.
Crews from Rural Metro Fire Department, Grants Pass Fire & Rescue and American Medical Response worked together to remove the single occupant from the crumpled pickup truck. The patient was transported by ambulance to the Rural Metro Fire station in Murphy landing zone, then transferred to a Mercy Flights helicopter and airlifted to a Medford area trauma hospital.
Just as the Rural Metro engine crew from the Wilderville Station was headed to the crash near Murphy, they came across a house on fire just a few doors down from the station in the 7900-block of Old Redwood Highway.
The two-person engine crew diverted from their original response, jumped into action and quickly contained the fire. They were soon backed up by an engine from Grants Pass Fire's Redwood Station. No occupants were located after a search of the residence. The cause of the fire is under investigation by Rural Metro and the Oregon State Fire Marshal.
During the height of the activity, additional help was called in from the Illinois Valley Fire District and Applegate Valley Fire District.
