FOREST GROVE, Oregon - On Friday afternoon, Cornelius Firefighters were sent to a residential fire in the 1200 block of N Barlow Street. But firefighters were already aware of the fire before being alerted by dispatchers, this is because the fire station is located directly across from the incident location. A student volunteer noticed the smoke from the training room and alerted their captain, by the time the captain looked out the window they saw flames and smoke from the house. As they were making their way to the fire engine, the alerting tones were going off at the same time.

The crew arrived seconds later to find heavy fire coming from the rear porch of the house. They made a quick attack on the flames, but the fire had already spread into the interior of the house. A second arriving crew from Hillsboro attacked the flames that had reached the interior. It took firefighters approximately 30 minutes to extinguish the fire, and another hour searching for hot spots.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation. The fire has displaced three occupants of the house, they are receiving assistance from the Red Cross.

Cornelius Fire Department was assisted on scene by Forest Grove Fire & Rescue, Gaston Fire District, Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, Hillsboro Fire & Rescue, Banks Fire District and Washington County Sheriffs Deputies assigned to Cornelius.