Around 11:30 Tuesday night our pagers toned out for a commercial fire. A commercial fire in Colton? Colton has very few commercial buildings…the elementary, middle & high schools, the market, the post office, the Cafe….and the Fir!
By the time we made it to the Elwood station to pick up Engine 123, The duty officer arrived on scene to confirm that flames were visible outside the building and, although it was open for business, the building had been evacuated. He requested additional tones for a second alarm fire. Brad and I were the first engine on scene, and we pulled around back to start attacking the source of the flames. An outside shelter area attached to the building was fully engulfed, along with the kitchen and an outdoor storage area. Brad got the engine pumping water and I was ready on the hose. More than 5 minutes later, our remaining apparatus from Colton arrived, along with crews from Molalla, Estacada and Clackamas.
By 2:30 am, the fire was out but the Fir was a complete loss. This was such a big event, we were the lead story with all the big city news crews!
DAILY NEWS UPDATE (From the Molalla Pioneer)
Colton bar and restaurant burns in Tuesday fire
A fire broke out at Stewarts’ Fir Valley Inn on Highway 211 in Colton late last night, causing at least $300,000 in damage.
Several patrons and a bartender were inside when the fire ignited, but all made it out safely, said Cassie Stewart, the daughter of the inn’s owners.
The inn has operated in Colton since the 1970s and was purchased by Jan and Laura Stewart in 2004. The Stewarts’ home is located on the same property as the inn, but was not damaged in the fire.
Colton Fire District arrived at the blaze around 11:30 last night and received assistance from Estacada, Clackamas and Molalla fire departments, Colton Fire Chief Gary Anderson said. In all, nearly 30 firefighters responded.
The fire appeared to originate near the kitchen’s refrigeration units, Anderson said, but the cause is still being investigated.
“(The fire) was in the back of the building, but it went up the wall and got into the attic,” Anderson said. “It just roared across that attic.”
Stewart said the inn’s bartender discovered the fire after feeling heat and going back to the kitchen to investigate. A customer attempted to control the flames with a fire extinguisher, but the blaze had grown too large to manage. Another customer ran to the house next door to awake the owners.
Cassie Stewart said there has been a constant flow of people stopping by to survey the damage today.
“People have been coming from all over who used to come here as kids because they can’t believe it,” Stewart said. “Fir Valley is pretty much a community building where everybody goes. It’s really tragic to see it because it’s pretty much a place you could go and everybody knows who you are. It’s like family there.”
The inn is scheduled to host a poker run this Saturday and Stewart said they hope to still hold the event on site. The building was insured and she said her parents hope to eventually rebuild.
And from TV reporters brave enough to venture out deep into the sticks: