Just after 2:40 pm today multiple callers to the Washington County Consolidated Communications Agency 911 center reported a residential fire in the 16700 block of SW Spellman Drive in Beaverton. Firefighters from TVF&R’s Cooper Mountain station 69 arrived within four minutes of dispatch to find heavy fire through the roof of the residence. As additional firefighters arrived an aggressive interior fire attack was initiated to extinguish the fire, which had spread to the attic space of the home. As firefighters battled the intense flames and heat a partial collapse of the structure occurred, causing incident commanders to withdrawal firefighters from the home and change to a defensive strategy. Fortunately, no firefighters were injured when the collapse occurred.
Firefighters continued to battle the flames using exterior hose lines and elevated streams from TVF&R ladder trucks for the next 45 minutes. Due to the efforts of firefighters on scene the fire was contained to the original structure, and there was no fire spread to nearby homes and dense vegetation. Approximately 40 firefighters and 11 pieces of firefighting apparatus responded to the fire.
The home was unoccupied at the time of the fire and was currently listed for sale under contract. There were no other reports of injuries as a result of the fire. TVF&R fire investigators are currently working to determine the cause of the fire. The house has been deemed a total loss.
TVF&R was assisted on scene by the Washington County Sheriff’s office, Metro West Ambulance, Portland General Electric, and Northwest Natural Gas.
The home had working smoke alarms but did not have a fire sprinkler system. When a fire sprinkler system is present, the likelihood of injuries and costly damage is dramatically reduced. More information about fire sprinkler systems can be found at: http://www.tvfr.com/index.aspx?nid=144