Firefighters have busy weekend 
by Mark Berglund
The Star News
December 24, 2009 —  The Medford Area Fire Department was called out for almost 16 straight hours Saturday as three separate incidents put the crew to the test.
The first call was a structure fire which caused major damage in the City of Medford. The department was called out at 12:32 a.m. and returned at 3:30 a.m. The fire was a chimney fire. Medford Fire Department Chief John Fales said while the investigation continues it is believed the chimney pipe separated to cause the fire. Fales said the fire damaged roof joists, but the family has been able to live in the home after the fire.
After a short break, the department was called to assist the Stetsonville Volunteer Fire Department. Stetsonville received a call at 6:13 a.m. to a sawdust silo on fire at Stetson Hardwoods. According to the department release, the Stetsonville firefighters removed most of the sawdust from the silo while the Medford aerial ladder truck was used to cool the silo and to put water into the top of the silo.
"We were fortunate to have both fire departments respond," Bob Bernklau of Stetson Hardwoods said. "It could have been much worse, but it's a credit to the fire departments. They did the job."
The sawdust in the silo is fuel for the company's drying kilns, which run year round. Right now, they are operating on natural gas. A structural engineer is expected in this week to determine how much damage was done and when the silo can be brought back on-line. The sawdust in the silo at the time of the fire is not usable as fuel, but it will find use as animal bedding or compost.
Stetsonville firefighters were on the scene for 4-1/2 hours while Medford assisted for about three hours. The Taylor County Ambulance Service and Stetsonville First Responders were also on the scene. An end loader from the Wolf Sawmill assisted with the operation.
Medford's final call came at 2:30 p.m. as it responded to a fire in the Town of Medford. The call lasted just over two hours. The fire caused minor damage. Fales said the fire was caused by a dirty chimney.
Fales said in addition to keeping chimneys clean, using clean, dry wood and having the fire temperature hot enough to prevent creosote from building helps prevent chimney fires.
Fales said the two Medford fires drew approximately 15 firefighters each, while 10-12 firefighters reported for the Stetsonville call. In addition to the time on the calls, firefighters had about 45 minutes of clean-up time back at the fire station.

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