Three-alarm fire burns building housing antique farm equipment
KGW 10:43 AM. PDT July 13, 2016
PERRYDALE, Ore. – A three-alarm fire at a building housing antique vehicles and farm equipment could not be stopped by about 50 firefighters, who braved the heat of the flames to protect other nearby structures.
The fire was reported about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, at the 3000 square foot building on Bethel Road at Perrydale Road. Firefighters from nearby Amity, McMinnville, Yamill County and other departments were forced to fight the fire from a defensive position, focusing on saving an adjacent home and mobile home.
"There were residences here on the back side of it and that was our main objective was to keep the fire from spreading to those homes," said incident PIO John Stock, who is also the Dundee Fire Chief.
The building was built in the 1930’s and was previously home to a gas station, a machine shop, and a farm equipment parts store.
"The structure was built in 1933 so the wood was very very dry and so it just had a big fuel load going in there for us," said Amity Fire District Chief Bruce Hubbard.
The owner splits his time between Perrydale and Idaho, where neighbors say he farms. They say he left for Idaho just yesterday. During his time in Oregon, neighbors says he works with others on restoring antique vehicles, tractors and other farm equipment. Now the building where all that happened is a total loss.
Some of those most connected to the shop and its owner are the Johnston family, who live in a home directly behind the shop. Kaleb Johnston is a student firefighter, whose first big blaze happened to be right next door.
"Lots of adrenaline and since it was kind of a personal case even more of a hurry to get stuff put out," said the 17 year old firefighter in training, of fighting the fire.
Johnston added, "There was a lot of cool stuff in there too and when I first got here I almost teared up a bit because I knew it wasn’t gonna be saved."
Fire Investigators with the state fire marshal’s office were on scene Wednesday morning, trying to figure out how the fire started.