A fire that started in a barn’s chimney tore through the roof of a large metal-clad pole barn southwest of Sherwood Friday night, growing so intense that firefighters couldn’t safely go inside and had to fight it from the outside instead. Ammunition stored in the barn began exploding as the structure burned, and a large propane tank sitting nearby added another layer of danger to the scene.
Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue’s preliminary investigation found that the blaze started in the chimney while a fire was burning in a woodstove inside the barn, according to KATU. Crews arrived to find black smoke billowing from several openings in the structure, and the fire had already torn through the roof by the time firefighters got close enough to assess it.
No Hydrants Meant Trucking In Every Drop
Because TVF&R crews could not enter the barn to fight the blaze directly, firefighters worked the fire from outside the structure instead. The job was complicated by the fact that there were no nearby fire hydrants, meaning every gallon of water used to fight the flames had to be trucked in to the rural property.
Despite those obstacles, firefighters managed to keep the barn fire from spreading to nearby buildings, and the blaze was brought under control about an hour after crews arrived on scene. The exploding ammunition and the propane tank near the barn underscored the stakes of keeping the fire contained to the single structure.
Second Barn Fire In Weeks For The Sherwood Area
This is not the only barn fire to hit the rural outskirts of Sherwood in recent weeks. On October 17, a barn and field fire broke out in the 2100 block of Ringer Street southwest of town, and TVF&R said crews arrived to find a barn fully involved in flames and collapsing, along with a separate field fire, as reported by KOIN. One person was treated by firefighters and taken to a hospital after that fire, and Dundee Fire, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, and ambulances all responded to assist. Crews made significant progress after about 30 minutes, allowing some units to be recalled from that scene.
A separate barn fire reported by KOIN on a Tuesday morning hit a 30-by-30-foot shop on SW Wunderli Canyon Road outside Sherwood, with fire described as coming from all sides of the structure. Authorities said that fire was knocked down by 10:50, and the outlet did not report any injuries from that incident.
TVF&R has previously posted real-time updates on barn fires in the area through its official X account, including notices about crews responding to blazes in the Ringer Street area. Friday night’s fire followed other rural structure fires in the Sherwood area in recent weeks.
