Crews Remain On Scene Of Four-Alarm Fire In Downtown Hillsboro

Press release from the City of Hillsboro:

January 2, 2022

At 2:46 am on Sunday, an observant Hillsboro Police Department patrol officer radioed to dispatch reporting visible flames and glass breaking in the Weil Arcade building, located at 231 East Main Street in historic Downtown Hillsboro.

One minute later, community members began calling 911 to report significant amounts of smoke coming out from the front of the building. The fire was upgraded to a first alarm, bringing in additional fire engines and trucks.

Engine 1 arrived within five minutes to find pressurized, heavy black smoke rolling out from the front windows and door. The incident was quickly upgraded to a second alarm, bringing more resources from neighboring fire and rescue departments.

Firefighters attacked the fire from a defensive position outside of the building due to the heavy fire conditions. There were no reports of any persons inside or around the building. No injuries were reported. Firefighters used large diameter hoses and aerial ladder trucks on all sides of the building to put water onto the fire from the ground and from above. The fire burned very hot and extended rapidly throughout the building. Firefighters accessed the roof to cut ventilation holes to
allow heated gas and smoke to release out of the building to help provide better visibility into firefighting efforts.

At 3:11 am, the incident was upgraded to a third alarm. The fire continued to swiftly consume the contents of the building and, eventually, the fire caused more windows to break and fissures to open in the roof, allowing the fire to burn through the roof. As the structural integrity of the building deteriorated further and concerns about the risk of stability over the basement level, the fire was upgraded once again – this time to a fourth alarm.

For the next eight and a half hours, firefighters sprayed copious amounts of water onto the fire to try and extinguish the flames and prevent them from spreading into the adjacent buildings.

By 4:24 am, the front of the building partially collapsed, followed shortly afterward by the roof collapsing into the building. Due to the freezing temperatures, water runoff from the fire froze along the sidewalks and streets as it flowed to the stormwater drains.

At approximately 1 pm, the majority of the fire was knocked down. Crews continued to search for and extinguish hot spots.

Crews will remain on scene and rotate throughout the night and into Monday morning to extinguish hot spots and rekindled fires. A total of 40 fire and EMS units responded to the fire, bringing more than 130 first responders.

For the safety of the firefighters, crews rotated and received rest and rehabilitation on the scene, including food and water. A City of Hillsboro Fire & Rescue Department chaplain responded to the scene to provide support to responding personnel. Nearby businesses, including Hillsboro Bar and Grill, Bennett Urban Farm Store, and others donated coffee, food, and drink items to support responders.

Determining a Cause

A Hillsboro Fire & Rescue Investigator is working to determine the cause of the fire. If any member of the public has cell phone videos or photos of the fire to share that might help investigators, please contact the Hillsboro Fire & Rescue Public Information Officer at: FirePIO@Hillsboro-Oregon.gov or call the main Hillsboro Fire & Rescue station at 503-681-6166.

Community Safety Reminder

Hillsboro Fire & Rescue reminds all community members that the area where the fire occurred is still an active fire scene. We ask everyone to avoid the area for safety, unless necessary, and we ask that everyone who needs to be in the area stay behind the fencing and tape that has been placed around the building. East Main Street between 2nd and 4th avenues remains closed. Third Avenue from Lincoln Street to East Main Street remains closed.

For community awareness, important messages from the City of Hillsboro Water Department:

• Customers in Downtown Hillsboro may experience water discoloration/low water pressure due to the large volume of water flowing to fight the four-alarm commercial fire at E Main Street and NE 2nd Avenue.
• With the fire extinguished, please run cold water taps for 10 minutes to clear.
• If discolored water persists, call the Hillsboro Water Department's after-hours pager at 503-615-6775 and leave a contact number, or email WaterQuality@Hillsboro-Oregon.gov.

Thank You to Partners

Hillsboro Fire & Rescue thanks its partners from around the region who responded and assisted on the fire, including:

• Banks Fire District #13
• Cornelius Fire Department
• Forest Grove Fire & Rescue
• Gaston Fire Department
• Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue
• Portland Fire & Rescue
• Metro West Ambulance
• City of Hillsboro Police Department
• City of Hillsboro Water Department
• City of Hillsboro Public Works Department
• Washington County Land Use & Transportation
• NW Natural Gas
• Portland General Electric
• American Red Cross
• TriMet
• Bretthauer Oil

Statement from Mayor Steve Callaway

“Our community has been impacted by two fires this weekend: one that displaced 17 people within three apartments on Saturday, and another on Sunday that has visibly impacted our beloved Main Street. Our hearts go out to the families and all of the Main Street businesses affected by the fires. We and the community are here to support them in their recovery.”

In both fires, our firefighters did remarkable work. They stopped the apartment fire from spreading to other units. Their efforts to keep the Main Street fire from spreading was flat-out amazing. And it was a team effort with not only Hillsboro Fire & Rescue firefighters, but also our partners from neighboring agencies: Banks, Cornelius, Forest Grove, Gaston, Portland Fire, and Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue.

We are also grateful for our partnerships with NW Natural, PGE, the Red Cross, TriMet, and others whose help allowed us to respond to both of these emergencies and support those affected.”

For updates and video, visit the Hillsboro Fire & Rescue Department Twitter feed

This press release was produced by the City of Hillsboro. The views expressed are the author's own.