Just after 3:20a.m. this morning, several tenants of the Kimberly West Apartments in the 7800 block of SW Hall in Beaverton called 9-1-1 reporting smoke alarms sounding, the smell of smoke and the glow of flames from a two-story building containing four apartments. A Beaverton Police officer was first to arrive and began to notify tenants that they needed to evacuate.

Within seven minutes of being dispatched, firefighters from TVF&R’s Beaverton Station 67 arrived to find heavy flames and rolling black smoke coming from a first-story apartment unit. The fire was spreading to the upper apartment. They aggressively began fighting the fire and searching apartments. Three of the apartments were already evacuated or empty. Despite several requests by firefighters, one adult male refused to leave his apartment that was filling with smoke and being threatened by the fire burning next door. Fortunately Beaverton Police Officers were able to remove the man from the increasingly dangerous situation while firefighters continued to fight the fire which breeched the shared attic space.

Within ten minutes, firefighters had knocked down the bulk of flames inside the apartments. They continue to work for an hour to put out hot spots, mop up and try to salvage tenant’s belongings. The fire completely destroyed two apartment units and caused smoke and heat damage to two others. Four adults and one child were displaced and the American Red Cross responded to help victims.

A fire investigator has been on scene since early this morning conducting witness interviews, examining burn patterns and evaluating material evidence. At this time it’s unclear what started the fire, but preliminary findings indicated that it started on a balcony.