NEWS RELEASE
April 4, 2001
Release:  Immediately
Contact:  Storm Smith, Community Liaison, (503) 612-7013

A two-alarm fire destroyed two Sherwood businesses early Tuesday morning, April 4, 2001. The fire consumed the Old Town Saloon and McFinches' Old Town Resale, both located on Railroad Street in Old Town Sherwood.

A citizen reported the fire to the 9-1-1 Dispatch Center at about 1:12 am. The first Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue engine arrived minutes later to find the Old Town Saloon fully charged with smoke and a column of smoke rising above it. The engine company officer, Captain Dan Atkisson, immediately called for a second alarm, which brought additional apparatus and firefighters. Units from Newberg, Lake Oswego, Cornelius, and Washington County Fire District 2 aided in fighting the fire. A total of 15 units with 60 firefighters spent more than an hour and a half bringing the blaze under control. Several crews remained on scene all morning dousing hot spots.

The fire extended from the attic space of the saloon into the adjacent McFinches' Old Town Resale shop. Both buildings are a total loss. Preliminary damage estimates exceed 400-thousand dollars.

Engineers must examine the structural integrity of the remaining walls before fire investigators can safely enter the burned buildings to begin their investigation. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

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