News Release from: Clackamas Fire District #1
Clackamas fire crews responded to a house fire at 5:44am Tuesday, Dec. 22 at 10816 S. Buetel rd. in Oregon City.
Neighbors initiated the call to 911 stating that their neighbors' house was engulfed in flames.
The home had flames coming from all doors, windows and the roof when the first crew arrived. Hose lines were put in place and water began flowing into this large two-story home.
The fire had gone unnoticed for so long that crews could not go inside to fight the fire. They had take a defensive stand and drown the fire from the outside. During the initial attack, one side of the home collapsed which prompted an emergency alert message from the battalion chief to assure that all crews were safe.
All crews were safe and accounted for. Firefighters fought the fire for 50 minutes before it was officially deemed under control. There were no firefighter injuries and the homeowner was away on vacation during the fire.
The homeowner was reached by phone and confirmed that no one was home. Crews were able to protect the detached garage and all of its contents due to aggressive firefighting tactics. It appeared that the home had recently been fully remodeled.
There were nine fire units from Clackamas Fire on scene, and a unit from Canby fire that assisted efforts. There was one Clackamas Fire water tender that was called to the scene initially due to a weak flowing hydrant. The tender was canceled after crews were able to get just enough pressure out of the hydrant to make a safe extinguishment of this large fire.
Crews will be on scene for several hours monitoring the debris pile. Investigators will begin working on a cause as soon as the pile cools down.
