At 3:44 a.m. Wednesday, Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue firefighters were dispatched to a possible fire located off Southwest Tualatin Road.
Upon arrival, a battalion chief reported fire coming from the first and second floors of a large commercial building and immediately upgraded it to a first alarm.
Firefighters initiated an aggressive interior attack and made sure there were no occupants inside. Due to the growing size of the fire, it was soon upgraded to a second alarm to bring in additional resources.
The fire presented a challenge to firefighting efforts due to it being approximately 100 years old and having undergone multiple remodels. Due to these factors, there were many void spaces inside of the structure, and the fire was difficult to reach.
First arriving Battalion Chief Mark Cross explained, “This is essentially a building inside of a building. “
An initial report indicated that there might be a residence inside of the building. It was later determined that this was on office building, and that there were no residents or occupants.
Due to firefighting operations, the nearby business complex was closed for a few hours this morning. There were no reported injuries to firefighters or civilians.
The building and its contents sustained extensive damage.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
TVF&R crews were assisted by Lake Oswego Fire with firefighting efforts and Tualatin Police Department with traffic control.