The warehouse that fire gutted Tuesday held an allure for teens and transients; the cause of the suspicious blaze remains unknown

All summer, the vacant three-story warehouse at 11th and Front streets was an irresistible attraction to both transients and teens — despite numerous attempts to keep trespassers at bay.

"We’d nail up the causeways and the walkways and they would bust them," said owner David Culbertson. "We were putting new locks up and they’d be broken off the next morning ... Keeping them out was a near impossibility."

It’s unclear what, exactly, attracted the surge of vandals and trespassers. Police speculate it was rumors that the cold storage facility was haunted or the building’s dark and isolated location.

But the darkness cloaking 411 Front St. was blown away late Tuesday night by a roaring blaze that threw flames 100 feet into the air.

The cause of the fire — which gutted the block-long warehouse and connecting building — is still unknown. It’s also unclear if anybody died in the blaze.

Pockets of fire continued to burn Wednesday night, although crews knocked down most of the blaze earlier that morning.

As of Wednesday night, nobody had entered the unstable and still-smoking structure. Detectives will most likely be allowed to enter the building to comb the ashes sometime today. But even without setting foot inside, authorities are calling the fire suspicious.

The building had no power source when the fire erupted, and police are looking into witness reports regarding suspicious teenagers and men seen in or running from the area when the blaze erupted.

"We’re not saying this is a crime," said Medford police Detective Steve Edson. "We’re following up on anything that’s possibly related."

Medford police and fire officials are conducting the joint investigation. Their job has been hampered by the warehouse’s unstable walls and four tanks of anhydrous ammonia that prevent crews from entering.

The 2,000 pounds of ammonia in the tanks — two on the roof (both stabilized Wednesday with a crane) and two on the ground — were scheduled to be emptied Wednesday evening by a special team from Los Angeles, said Medford Fire Chief Dave Bierwiler. A wrecking ball will be used to collapse the walls today, and investigators will then shift through the rubble for clues.

"We don’t know what, if anything, is inside," he said.

The fire was reported at 10:22 p.m. Tuesday by numerous onlookers and residents.

One person to dial 911 was Ashland High School student Kayla Goldfarb, who was at the warehouse when the fire first erupted. She said teens have dubbed the building "Fear Factory" because many believe the ghosts of people who died in the structure haunt the place.

Goldfarb, 17, said she and three friends had gone to the warehouse Tuesday night because they were bored.

"We went there to scare ourselves," she said. "We weren’t going to go in."

Goldfarb said the group noticed that a back entrance to the warehouse was open. That’s when 19-year-old Medford mechanic Steve Coleman said he stepped inside to investigate. Coleman said he saw a guy walking along a hallway that appeared to be lit up.

"I looked back up and the guy was charging me," Coleman said.

Startled, Coleman said he jumped back and noticed black smoke pouring out of the building. That smoke suddenly became flames, he added.

"It was extremely fast. It just went like that," he said.

The unknown man ran outside, looked at the group and ran off toward South Medford High School, Coleman said.

Goldfarb said the group attempted to get inside and stomp the fire out, but the blaze forced them away. They ran away and called police to report the fire and what they had seen.

"I have no idea what happened," she said. "It’s just a really weird coincidence that we were there. We’re trying to help police (solve the case)."

Front Street resident Eric Munoz Jr. just happened to glance out the window late Tuesday night in time to see orange flames crawling up the warehouse, just a few feet from his home.

He quickly yelled for his father, Erik Munoz Sr., and the family rushed outside.

"I just grabbed my wife and babies and we got (out of there)," Munoz Sr. said. "I thought ‘Uh oh, the house is going to catch on fire,’ but thank God it didn’t."

Although the fire didn’t damage any other structures, the Munoz family was evacuated Wednesday along with a nearby occupant on the east side of the warehouse. It could be at least three days before they are allowed to return.

Medford fire Capt. Tom Clemo fought the blaze from inside the bucket of a ladder truck Tuesday night. He said the building’s cork insulation and tar paper roof became floating, fiery pieces of debris that landed on the roofs of nearby homes and businesses.

"You have the potential for several other fires," he said while surveying the collapsed floors of the warehouse from nearly 100 feet in the air Wednesday afternoon. "We were very lucky."

The fire would have posed a greater risk had the flames reached Hartsook Construction at 11th and Front streets north of the warehouse, said Fire Chief Bierwiler.

"It was full of highly flammable chemicals and material," he said. "Had that happened, we would have been really strapped for resources. We would have been in a world of hurt."

The cold storage warehouse’s thick cinderblock and brick walls helped keep the fire from spreading, he said.

As the blaze raged Tuesday, hundreds of onlookers, residents and motorists crowded the streets for a better view. Most ignored police warnings that the ammonia could cause a deadly leak or explosion.

Firefighters from Ashland to Grants Pass were on the scene, including 85 personnel, 20 engines, three ladder trucks and emergency medical teams.

Police are urging residents who have any information regarding the blaze to contact Detective Edson at 774-2233 and leave a message.

Officials say the investigation will extend into the weekend.

Reach reporter Jill Briskey at 776-4485, or e-mail jbriskey@mailtribune.com.

Mail Tribune reporter Meg Landers contributed to this report.