Blaze destroys Phoenix townhouse

Dec. 24--A fire ripped through a townhouse in Phoenix at 1:40 a.m. Thursday, forcing four families to flee and causing extensive smoke damage in three other units.

"I ran out in my T-shirt and underwear, and my wife ran out in her nightgown," said Tony Nordheim.

His van was badly burned, and Nordheim, 54, and his wife, Shar, returned in the morning to salvage as many of their belongings as possible from the vehicle parked in front of the townhouse complex at 600 W. First St.

"I just put new tires on it," Nordheim said.

The couple's townhouse, which was next door to the unit where the fire started, had extensive smoke damage, and the Red Cross set them up in a hotel for Christmas Eve. Their 10-year-old cat, named "Baby Cat," died from smoke inhalation, but Nordheim said none of his neighbors appear to have been injured.

"Our house just got trashed from the smoke," he said. Nordheim said he has insurance and owns his townhouse, but he said his insurance won't cover all his financial needs as he tries to rebuild his life.

Nordheim's townhouse was to the left of the unit that was gutted by the fire. He said the woman in the townhouse to the right of that unit was terrified.

"That woman ran out of here screaming," he said.

Fire District No. 5 crews arrived at 1:40 a.m. when the blaze had engulfed the first and second floor. More engines were called out for the three-alarm fire to prevent it from spreading to other apartments, according to Fire Chief Darin Welburn.

Searching for clues as to what caused the fire, investigators were having a difficult time because of the extensive damage from the heat and flames. Most of the items in the townhouse were charred or melted.

Welburn said that in addition to the apartment that was gutted, three others were deemed uninhabitable, mostly because of smoke and water damage.

Capt. Aaron Bustard of Fire District 5 said a fire wall held up pretty well, containing the blaze to just one unit. However firefighters knocked down the ceilings in adjoining units to make sure the fire hadn't spread into the attic.

Bustard said the cause of the blaze was still under investigation.

Other fire agencies from Medford, Ashland, Jacksonville and Fire District No. 3 assisted.

The Red Cross reported that its disaster assistance team provided temporary lodging and other immediate needs for the two adults who live in the townhouse where the fire started. Other neighboring families stayed with relatives.

A neighbor, 35-year-old Stephanie Baynard, said she stayed up late Wednesday night getting ready for Christmas, and she had just returned from the hospital after visiting her grandmother.

The inside of her townhouse was covered in wet ash Thursday morning, but luckily she didn't have any significant smoke damage.

With her cats running around, she said, "Basically we're all happy to be alive. We're really sorry for our friends. They won't be home for Christmas."

Baynard said she was putting up decorations late Wednesday night when she saw flames inside her neighbor's house.

"I went banging on doors telling people to get out, while my daughter was on the phone calling 911," she remembered. "That's when the windows were busting out, and everything was insane."

Even after the fire was out, the neighbors didn't get much sleep.

"My daughter's really upset, and she stayed up all night," Baynard said.

Despite the ordeal, Baynard said it has brought her husband and three children even closer for the holidays.

"It makes Christmas that much more special," she said.

Reach reporter Damian Mann at 541-776-4476 or dmann@mailtribune.com. Follow him on Twitter at @reporterdm.

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