Apartment fire closes 21st Ave in Forest Grove

An apartment fire at College Place Apartments saw police close 21st Ave between Hawthorne and Filbert Street Thursday afternoon.

Crews were dispatched to the 2600 block of 21st Avenue at 5:07 p.m. Thursday and found an exterior fire that had spread into a single-story, four-unit building, Forest Grove Fire & Rescue said in a news release.

Numerous agencies responded to the fire, which was contained to one building, Forest Grove Fire & Rescue spokesperson Matt Johnston said at the scene.

A cause remains under investigation, but the fire started on the back deck of one of the apartments, Forest Grove Fire & Rescue said. Johnston said at the scene that it appeared to begin on the building's exterior, though he couldn't independently confirm that at the time.

The fire was burning in an attic shared by all of the units in the building, called a common attic, typical of older apartment buildings. The apartment complex in question is located behind the Beehive Assisted Living facility.

Because of the building's age, it had no automatic sprinkler system and no fire walls in the attic, Forest Grove Fire & Rescue said. A modern building would have had both.

Photos: Chas Hundley

"And that's a problem, because it can go anywhere, right?" Johnston said.

He said it looked like crews had stopped the fire just after 5:30 p.m. Crews were on the roof, using a chainsaw to saw into the attic from above.

Responding agencies included Forest Grove Fire & Rescue, Gaston Fire District, Cornelius Fire Department, Hillsboro Fire & Rescue, Banks Fire District, the Forest Grove Police Department, AMR Ambulance and Forest Grove Light and Power.

No residents or firefighters were injured, Forest Grove Fire & Rescue said.

Four people, one from each unit, were displaced by the damage, Forest Grove Fire & Rescue said. Three were receiving help from the American Red Cross, while the fourth was out of state.

Fire, smoke and water heavily damaged the apartment where the fire started, Forest Grove Fire & Rescue said. Adjoining units had varying water and smoke damage.

This story has been updated with additional information from Forest Grove Fire & Rescue.