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@TVFR
At 12:39 a.m. this morning, a Washington County Sherriff's Office patrol deputy spotted a fire in a home under construction at 7864 NW 169th Avenue in unincorporated Washington County (also known as North Bethany). He also reported smoke coming from the home next door at 7888 NW 169th Avenue.
First-arriving firefighters from Station 64 started to fight the primary fire at 7864 NW 169th Avenue from the outside. Additional fire crews protected exposures and began to suppress the fire from the inside of the adjacent home at 7888 NW 169th Avenue.
At 1:02a.m., the incident commander called a second alarm to bring more firefighters to the scene. Two aerial ladder trucks were used to spray water onto the primary fire unit. Firefighters were able to control the fires within 40 minutes and keep them from spreading to additional homes. In addition to the fire hazards, responders dealt with slick surfaces as water from the fire fight froze.
The home located at 7864 NW 169th was in the final stages of construction, and is considered a total loss. Minor fire, smoke and water damage occurred to the home at 7888 NW 169th Avenue. TVF&R fire investigators fear the fires were intentionally set and will continue working with arson detectives from Washington County Sheriff's Office.
In addition to this morning's fire, three others have occurred:
* The first fire was on August 16 at Northwest 169th & Trillium.
* The second fire was a block away on August 27 at Northwest 169th & Madrone.
* The third took place on November 21 near the intersection of NW 167th and NW Catalpa St.
* In all cases, firefighters from Station 64 were first to arrive and were met by a large amount of fire.
TVF&R was assisted this morning by Hillsboro Fire Department, Portland Fire and Rescue and Washington County Sherriff's Office. Metro West Ambulance also provided a standby unit in case injuries occurred.
Anyone with information related to this incident or other fires occurring in the area should call the Sherriff's Office at 503-846-2700. WCSO has provided extra patrols to the area since August. Property developer Noyes also hired a private security company to monitor the area.