Sept. 02--Beaverton police arrested a 41-year-old man after he refused to leave his apartment while the next-door unit was on fire early Tuesday, according to authorities.
William Lennox Sperley was arrested on an accusation of interfering with a firefighter, said Officer Mike Rowe, a Beaverton police spokesman. Firefighters reportedly first ordered him to evacuate, and when he didn't, they called police.
It took firefighters about 40 minutes to extinguish the blaze at the apartment complex, located in the 7000 block of Southwest Hall Boulevard.
The single-alarm fire was called into 911 at 3:23 a.m., said Cassandra Ulven, a Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue spokeswoman. It left extensive smoke and fire damage.
Two balconies collapsed at one point during the blaze. Ulven did not know how many residents were evacuated. No one was injured.
-- Rebecca Woolington
-- Noelle Crombie
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