Two-Alarm Fire in Beaverton Apartment Displaces Twenty Tenants

Approximately 20 people displaced by the fire are being assisted by the American Red Cross.

Remnants of an apartment unit after a blaze that rendered 20 people homeless. Photo courtesy: Karen Eubanks/Tualitan Fire

(BEAVERTON, Ore.) - An aggressive fire attack on the part of firefighters is credited for minimizing damage to a Beaverton apartment building, as well as tenants' belongings in adjacent apartments.

Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue responded to an apartment fire around 11:20 AM today at the Brentwood Court Apartments located at 3298 SW 125th Avenue in Beaverton.

Karen Eubanks with Tualitan Fire say that as crews were enroute, they received information from a 9-1-1 dispatcher that a tenant was reporting one apartment fully engulfed and fire spreading to an adjacent apartment.

"When crews arrived minutes later they found a two-story building with six apartments, three of which had heavy smoke and fire coming from the upstairs windows."

The crew from Station 61 entered one apartment that was filled with dark smoke, Eubanks says, and heavy fire in the living areas. She says fire crews quickly extinguished the fire and confirmed there were no occupants.

"The crew then proceeded to a second unit to remove portions of the ceiling and begin extinguishing fire that had spread to the attic space above. A truck company from Station 67 was utilized to cut holes in the building's roof to ventilate the attic."

Then a second alarm was called at 11:36 AM she says, due to concerns about the volume of fire in the attic space. The fire was considered under control within 20 minutes.

Eubanks says the fire is believed to have started in apartment 3300 and remains under investigation at this time. The tenants—an adult male and female, and one child—were not home at the time of the fire.

"The entire apartment and its contents are a complete loss with the exception of a child's bedroom which had its door shut when the fire broke out. The two adjacent apartments on the second floor sustained some fire damage, as well as heavy smoke and water damage."

The three units below had minimal water damage, Eubanks added. "Firefighters took precautions during the incident to protect valuables in those units. Approximately 20 tenants were displaced by the fire. They are being assisted by the American Red Cross."

The building was not required to have a sprinkler system. A damage estimate is pending at this hour.