Fire engulfs West Hills home

TVF&R and Portland firefighters douse blaze northeast of Bethany

Fire engulfed a large home in the West Hills northeast of Bethany on Thursday morning.

The property owner and others called 9-1-1 at 5:45 a.m. to report the fire in the 13000 block of Northwest Germantown Road, located in rural Multnomah County northwest of Bethany.

Arriving crews from Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue found much of the 6,000-square-foot burning and upgraded the incident to a second alarm.

The location presented challenges to firefighters including a long, narrow driveway, thick trees and brush and no immediate water hydrants, according to TVF&R spokesman Stefan Myers.

Firefighters both fought the house fire while also trying to prevent the spread of fire into nearby brush, Myers said. They used two drafting sites at nearby hydrants to maintain a constant supply of water to firefighters, he added.

Germantown Road was closed at the Old Germantown Road and Skyline Boulevard intersections to allow water tenders to shuttle water to the scene.

Initial indications from witness statements, burn patterns and video footage indicate that the fire may have started in the garage, but the investigation is ongoing.

TVF&R was assisted by firefighters from Portland Fire & Rescue and Hillsboro Fire & Rescue and police officers from the Portland Police Bureau and Multnomah County Sheriff's Office.

With temperatures in and near the 100s, humidity levels dropping and winds picking up, Myers said that firefighters hope everyone is cautious when using materials or equipment that can become an ignition source.

There are fire safety tips at tvfr.com.