In the early morning hours of Oct. 11, our family was awakened by a fire in an outbuilding on our family homestead that was rapidly spreading through the rafters. We jumped out of bed and did all we could to fight the flames with a garden hose. Within 15 minutes, the fire had knocked out our power supply, which connected our well and water pump. Without water, the fire moved rapidly and we had just minutes to gather our children and elderly mother and make a run for it. As we sped out of our driveway, we looked back at our house, half of which was engulfed in flames, and figured it would be the last we would see of it.

When we got to the end of our driveway, the first fire engines from the Eugene-Springfield Fire Department rolled onto the scene. Within minutes, they had water on the fire and batted down the flames enough to give the house a fighting chance. As reinforcements showed up, they were able to get enough water to save half the house. In the midst of all this chaos, the firefighters took the time to salvage family photos, albums, important documents, and even some of our boy’s favorite toys.

We were so impressed with their professionalism and even more so with the big hearts they all had as they took the time to salvage some of the most important and irreplaceable items. 

Our hearts go out to the crews who saved our house that night.

Matthew, Jen, Eli and Sammy Rutman

Eugene

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