The blaze set off automatic alarms in one of the building’s second-floor offices where it originated, said Chris Chambers, public information officer for AFR.

“The automatic alarms were really a saving grace,” said Chambers. “It could have very well saved a lot of money in damages to the building.”

Located on the corner of Siskiyou Boulevard and Mountain Avenue, the 107-year-old colonial revival style home was empty when the fire started, and no one was injured, Chambers said. The blaze was mostly contained to the room where it started, he said.

Ashland Fire and Rescue responded to a call from the building’s automated alarms at 6:32 a.m., and triggered a second alarm after arriving on scene five minutes later.

Read entire article at the Mail Tribune.

Medford’s crime numbers are up nearly across the board this year, with the traditional busiest months for criminal activity yet to come, police officials said.

The 20.6 percent increase overall is not limited to minor crimes such as shoplifting, up 6 percent over this time last year, or trespassing, up 62 percent, but also to serious person crimes, such as assault and robbery.

By the end of July, the department had responded to 776 assault calls, up from 757 the previous year. A deeper look at those totals points to a disturbing uptick in aggravated assault, a more serious crime that often ends in major injuries. Officers have investigated 139 aggravated assaults this year, up from 100 at this time in 2010.

In addition, robberies have increased from 21 to 39, and strong-arm robberies — in which force is used — skyrocketed from 1 to 11.

Read entire article at the Medford Mail Tribune.

The Medford Police Department has capped a busy year in which officers responded to more than 100,000 calls for service, and its chief hopes to add to its force next year to take off some of the pressure.

Crime numbers are up in many categories, which is both bad and good news, said Medford Police Chief Randy Schoen.

The city saw increases in reported property crimes, including burglaries and car thefts. These numbers concern Schoen heading into 2011.

“We are definitely keeping an eye on the property-crime numbers,” Schoen said. “Those are issues that affect people’s lives.”

Read entire article at the Medford Mail Tribune.

December, 2010 Bulletin (download pdf).

List of all Medford Neighborhood Watch Bulletins

House fires will kill about 3,000 Americans this year. Surprisingly, more than a third of the victims will have at least one working smoke detector in their home or apartment.

How could this be?

As it turns out, not all smoke alarms are the same.

Read entire article at MSNBC.

Medford Police Sergeant Mike Budreau says there has been an increase in break-ins in East Medford. According to Budreau, Medford is up 30% in burglaries. In October, 7 homes were robbed and in September, 12 were also burglarized.

Read and see entire video report at KTVL News 10 Medford.

Clever Burglars Using Facebook To Learn When It’s Safe To Rob Your Home

Remember the bad old days, when burglars actually had to case your house to figure out if you were home or not?

No more.

Thanks to Facebook, they can just browse Facebook to figure out when it’s safe to go kick down your door:

Read this article at the Business Insider.