No one was home during winter break when fire gutted a house in South Eugene rented by University students, but the blaze caused almost $225,000 in damages.
For the past week, cars have driven more slowly past 3302 Donald St. Remnants of police tape, a collapsed roof, black walls and the smell of burnt wood is all that remains of the six-bedroom house.
Fire dispatch received the alarm Dec. 29 at 3:42 a.m., and the fire’s cause is undetermined, according to the Eugene Fire Department. Deputy Fire Marshal Mark Thompson said the department originally suspected that combustibles next to an electric wall heater caused the fire, but that possibility has been eliminated.
Four University students and two others were renting the house. They have since found new living arrangements.
Chris Smith, a Eugene resident who lived in the house for three weeks, said he and one of his roommates were the only tenants in Eugene the week of the occurrence. Both of them had first-story bedrooms, which suffered only minor damages.
“Luckily, I was able to save most of my stuff,” Smith said.
But the four University students, who lived in the second-story bedrooms and were on vacation at the time of the incident, weren’t as fortunate and will need insurance to cover their losses. Of the total estimate for damages, $25,000 came from destroyed items in the house.

The students could not be reached for comment.
Although most homeowners have their own insurance to cover a structure’s damages, renters are responsible for insuring their belongings. Students can either be insured under their parents, depending on their ages and insurance companies, or obtain renter’s insurance, which covers personal losses and liability.
Paul Brown, office manager at the River Road Insurance Agency Inc., said renter’s insurance coverage at most companies starts at about $20,000. In the case of a fire, renters would need to produce a list of their losses to their insurance company to be reimbursed accordingly.
Brown added that the procedures and details aren’t the same in every situation.
“Every company can be different,” he said. “It depends on its policies and the circumstance.”
Brown said it is common for people to stand at every corner of their houses and take pictures to use in instances such as a fire or robbery.

“This way they can remember what they had,” he said.
The building’s owner, Leif Brockman, said that in the three years he’s been a landlord, he’s never had to deal with a fire.
“My insurance doesn’t even cover everything, and I’m still trying to figure it all out,” he said. “This has never happened before … It’s still a shock to me.”