Firefighters from Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue extinguished a difficult to reach fire in the roof of a large assisted care facility in unincorporated Washington County tonight while ensuring the more than eighty residents of the facility were well cared for.
An employee at the Park Place Assisted Living Community, located at 8665 SW Hemlock Street in unincorporated Washington County, called 911 at 10:01 p.m. reporting that the building’s roof was on fire. The first arriving fire units observed smoke in the area and residents being evacuated from the building. As firefighters used ladders to access the two story building’s roof and began to work to get to the seat of the fire, it became clear that more resources were needed at the scene. A second alarm was called at 10:24 p.m. and, soon after that, the decision was made to activate TVF&R’s Incident Management Team.
As firefighters extinguished the fire in the building’s attic, other firefighters worked to ensure that the residents of the assisted living facility were cared for. TVF&R’s Incident Management Team quickly began coordinating the evacuation and placement of the residents in other assisted living facilities. The process of evacuating eighty residents who needed medical equipment and medications was complicated but, because of the resources available on-scene, occurred smoothly. Many of the residents use wheel-chairs and require special medical treatment. A large number of ambulances and vans from Metro West Ambulance and two buses from TriMet were used to transport the residents to other facilities.
Three people were treated by paramedics at the scene and two were transported to area hospitals for further medical evaluation.
“This was a complicated incident with a large number of people to care for and some logistical challenges,” says TVF&R Communications Officer Brian Barker, “but we had the right resources and the right training to make sure these people were well cared for.”
An investigator from Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue is working to determine the cause of the fire. The building suffered fire and smoke damage in the attic above the second floor and extensive water damage. There is no monetary damage estimate at this time.
A total of 17 fire apparatus from Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue, Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue Volunteers, and Portland Fire and Rescue responded to the incident. Approximately 75 fire personnel were on scene.
