Fire starts in garage, burns 2 houses

A fire that started in the garage of a home on Russet Drive in north Eugene Friday night quickly spread to the house next door and virtually destroyed both homes, according to the Eugene Fire Department.

“It’s very unusual,” Deputy Fire Chief Randy DeWitt said, of two homes side-by-side catching fire.

Damage from the 11:27 p.m. fire to the home at 1635 Russet Drive was estimated at $250,000, while damage to the house next door at 1615 Russet Drive was estimated at $200,000, DeWitt said.

No cause had been determined as of Saturday, DeWitt said.

“There was nothing to indicate anything other than accidental at this point,” he said.

The fire “quickly spread to the outside of the house (and) to 1615, and then got up into the attic (of that home),” DeWitt said.

Eight fire engines and one fire truck from Eugene and Springfield responded to the fire.

No one was home at either house Saturday night.

The smell of burned wood was still strong in the quiet neighborhood north of Cal Young Road. Destroyed belongings, piled in a heap, from the home at 1635 Russet Drive littered the driveway in front of the garage.

DeWitt wouldn’t say whether either home was a total loss, “but certainly significant, and (the residents) will be displaced for quite some time.”