Forest Grove Fire & Rescue

Emergency Messages as of 3:01 PM, Wed. Jul 30

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News Release

Apartment Fire Claims Life Of Resident (Photo) -07/25/25

At 5:16pm on Friday July 25th, Forest Grove Firefighters were dispatched to a reported house fire in the 1900 block of A Street. While enroute, crews had a large column of smoke visible and upgraded the incident to a 2nd Alarm. The first fire engine arrived three minutes after being dispatched to find an old house converted to apartments with heavy fire showing on the side. Prior to our arrival on scene, two citizens, an off-duty Firefighter and retired Deputy Fire Marshal, both from Hillsboro Fire & Rescue were helping residents evacuate from the second floor of the building using an ladder. Firefighters fought flames from both the exterior as well as the interior of the building, but the fire had already spread to the attic and compromised the strength of the roof. For safety reasons, crews withdrew from the structure and battled the flames from the outside. It took firefighters over an hour to knock down the majority of the flames and close to two additional hours of putting out hard to access hot spots in walls and the attic. 

Sadly, one resident was found deceased when our crews first arrived on scene. At the time of the release, their family has been notified. We will not be release any additional information at this time.

One firefighter on scene was transported by AMR to a local hospital to be evaluated for heat exhaustion.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation by the Forest Grove Fire Marshal's as well as Forest Grove Police Detectives. 

Forest Grove Fire & Rescue was assisted on scene by Cornelius Fire Department, Hillsboro Fire & Rescue, Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, Banks Fire District, Gaston Fire District, Forest Grove Police Department, Washington County Medical Examiner, AMR Ambulance and Forest Grove Light & Power.

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Two Alarm Brush Fire Burns Four Acres (Photo) -07/13/25

At 5:51 pm on Sunday July 13th, Forest Grove Fire & Rescue was dispatched to a field fire near the intersection of NW Thatcher Road and NW Kemper Road in rural Washington County. Firefighters arrived shortly after to find a fire burning in a grass field, with winds pushing the flames towards two barns. Fire crews set up to protect these structures while other crews in specially built four wheel drive brush rigs, drove in the field and attacked the flames. Due to quick actions by firefighters, the structures were not damaged. It took firefighters approximately 40 minutes on scene to deem the incident under control, while spending an additional hour checking for hotspots. 

In total, the fire burned close to four acres of the field and nearby light vegetation. No fire personnel or civilians were injured. The cause of the fire appears to be from welding that was being done in the field.


With dry conditions and warm weather, we want to remind citizens to not conduct welding or metal grinding near any vegetation. Also avoid the use of lawn mowers and weed eaters during the hottest times of the day when humidity is the lowest. 
 

Forest Grove Fire & Rescue was assisted on scene by Cornelius Fire Department, Hillsboro Fire & Rescue, Banks Fire District, Gaston Fire District, Washington County Sheriff and AMR.

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