NEWS RELEASE

(Fire District Plans Burn of former BMC West Building)

Pending weather conditions, Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue crews plan to burn a portion of the former BMC West property early next Sunday morning, October 1. The burn is expected to begin at approximately 4 a.m. and will involve a 75 by 50-foot structure located between two concrete warehouses.

The site of the burn is 17005 SW Cornell Road. Given that the location of the building is adjacent to Highway 26, the fire district wishes to publicize the drill so as not to alarm passersby as the exercise takes place. The burn has been scheduled for early Sunday morning so as to occur during a period of low traffic volume on both Highway 26 and Cornell Road. Reader boards will be placed near the burn to inform motorists of the training exercise

Over the last four weeks, firefighters from TVF&R and other local fire agencies have conducted a series of rescue, forcible entry, and firefighter safety drills in the vacant buildings at the site. The property was recently acquired by Dania, a San Francisco-area furniture company, which plans to eventually construct an 88,000 square-foot store and showroom, but allowed local firefighters to use the previous owner’s warehouses while waiting for building permits. Demolition of the concrete warehouses will take place in the weeks following the burn.