Woman Loses Pet Dog in Salem Apartment Fire

Elderly female resident fortunately was not home when the fire broke out.

Photos and video by Jerry Freeman

(SALEM) - Salem firefighters responded to an apartment fire tonight shortly after 8:00 pm, at 3235 Felina Ave NE. Due to the nature of the fire, a second alarm was called before the first units arrived on the scene.

Nobody was hurt, Salem Fire Dept. Battalion Chief Reed Godfrey explained.

"We had a single unit out of 8 units on fire on the first floor. When our first engine got here there, there were reports that a victim was inside. We went into rescue mode, we did make entry into the apartment and fortunately the resident was gone."

A man who knows the elderly female resident, Neighbor Rob Langford said he was alarmed by the loud sounds generated by the fire.

"My son and I came outside here at the apartments hearing loud pops, like something was exploding, we came around the corner to see smoke billowing out the apartment behind me."

Battalion Chief Reed Godfrey

He says flames were visible in the building, so he called 911 hoping the resident was not home, just as fire units began arriving on scene.

Neighbor Rob Langford

Langford later learned that an upstairs neighbor was able to attain a key from the apartment manager and open the door of the apartment to confirm that a fire was burning. That neighbor had already dialed 911.

While the woman who resides there was fortunate, this did not hold true for her pet.

"She just got a new dog about a month ago because her old dog passed, she is really sad," Langford added.

Langford said the woman had two dogs, however Salem Fire reported that there was only one. We will release more details as they become available. Battalion Chief Reed Godfrey said an investigator was enroute to the scene to try to determine what started the fire.

Jerry Freeman is part of a new generation of dedicated news photographers who entered the Internet news industry as a second career. He shares in common with many people who fulfilled their life dream of becoming a visual journalist. Joining the Navy at an early age, and the Oregon Army Guard a few years later, Jerry has a wide range of life experiences. He describes himself as “a truck driver with a new found passion to bear witness to the world’s events.”

Teaming up with Salem-News.com he embarked on a new career as a video news photographer and reporter. Jerry's quick exhibition of natural talent and ability to shoot breaking news led to his becoming a published member of the Salem-News.com team. You can write to Jerry Freeman at: videoshooter@live.com