At 10:18 am this morning, Hillsboro firefighters were dispatched to a residential fire at 10406 NE Evergreen Pkwy. Two adult residents returned home and when they entered their apartment, they were met with heavy, billowing dark smoke. They and other neighbors called 911 to report the fire. Two nearby fire extinguishers were used to try to extinguish the fire but were unsuccessful. The first arriving fire engine from Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue Station 64 reported seeing active fire and upgraded the incident to a first alarm to bring additional firefighters and resources.
As firefighters entered the home and worked to extinguish the fire, a different firefighter crew entered the home to search for occupants and pets. Two adult residents and two children were not home at the time and were uninjured. Sadly, two dogs, two cats, and two turtles perished from the fire. Two snakes were later found after the fire was extinguished and appear to have survived the fire. The fire was contained in one ground-level apartment unit. The apartment unit directly above the fire unit was impacted by some smoke from the fire below. The building where the fire occurred has six units total and it’s reported that occupants in the other four units were not injured.
A Hillsboro Public Safety Chaplain responded to the fire to provide support for the two adult residents and two children who were displaced because of the fire. They are being assisted by other family members.
Hillsboro Fire Investigators responded to the scene to investigate. Fire investigators report that this was a kitchen fire although the fire investigation is ongoing, and no official cause has been determined.
