At 6:37 a.m. this morning, Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue was dispatched to a smoke investigation near the Maricopa Hills II Apartments located at 20400 S.W. Martinazzi Avenue. While the engine crew was enroute they saw a large column of smoke and asked for additional crews to assist. Upon arrival at the complex, firefighters found a two-story building with flames coming from a lower-level apartment, spreading up the exterior to an upstairs apartment and the roof of the building. Not knowing the extent of the fire or if anyone was trapped, a second-alarm was immediately called (6:41 a.m.). Told that everyone was safely out of the apartments, first-arriving crews aggressively attacked the fire and began evacuating tenants further down from the involved units.

It is believed that the fire began in the front bedroom of the lower-level apartment (Unit #50). Fifteen year-old, Alex Ahumada, sleeping at the time of the fire, was the only resident home at the time of the fire. He was awakened by another tenant banging on his apartment door. The other residents from Unit #50, who had already left for work, included: Maria Garcia (37 yo); Alejandro Radriquez (33 yo); Giriselda Garcia (24 yo); and Berenice Ahumada (16 yo). The fire destroyed most of their belongings. The family had no renters insurance. Unit #52 above the apartment, sustained heavy smoke damage. The three male residents in Unit #52 were not home at the time of the fire. The American Red Cross was called to the scene to assist. The building contained nine apartment units, with approximately 30 residents. With the exception of the eight residents from Units #50 and #52, all tenants were allowed back into their apartments within 30 minutes. The cause of the fire and damage estimates are unknown at this time.

This fire is yet another reminder about the benefit of automatic sprinkler systems. The apartment building, built in 1979, was not required to have sprinkler systems. "An automatic sprinkler system would most likely have contained and/or extinguished this fire in the bedroom where it started," stated Karen Eubanks, Public Information Officer. For the past year, Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue has been involved in getting the cities it protects to adopt an appendix to the State Building Code. The appendix would require automatic sprinkler systems in all NEW multi-family construction that is two stories or greater or has 16 units (single story). To date, the appendix has been adopted by the cities of Tigard, Wilsonville, King City, and Sherwood. It is currently under consideration by the City of Beaverton and Washington County, and is expected to go before the City of Tualatin in the next several months. The Fire District’s effort to implement changes to the building code stemmed from two apartments fires in 1996 in which 11 individuals, including five children, were killed.