The Hoodland Fire District (HFD) announced an undetermined cause to the
three-alarm fire that hit building four at The Resort at The Mountain on
Wednesday, Dec. 30, following an investigation by the district, the Clackamas
County Fire Investigation Team, Oregon State Police, Oregon State Fire
Marshal’s Office, ATF and Insurance Fire Investigators. The fire, which forced
guests out of their rooms, was determined to have started in the upper areas
of the building.

Scott Kline, HFD Fire Marshall, noted the undetermined cause will “probably”
remain that way.

District firefighters were on the scene for approximately ten hours, according
to Kline, while numerous other area fire districts provided assistance,
including an engine and water tender from the Boring/Clackamas Fire District,
four engines from Sandy Fire District, one engine and a water tender from the
Estacada Fire District, a truck from the Gresham Fire Department, a truck
from Gladstone Fire Department and two American Medical Response units.
HFD response vehicles included two engines, two water tenders and a rescue
rig.

Kline noted the water tenders were needed because the available hydrants
could not supply enough water.

“We have to augment with having water trucks bring in extra water to the
scene,” he said, noting that engines are able to pump up to 1,250 gallons per
minute.

The fire was the second of 2015 which featured responders from other fire
departments, following the Golden Poles condominium fire in Government
Camp last April.

More district news
HFD Fire Chief Mic Eby noted that calls on the mountain are up this winter
compared to the previous winter, crediting more people seeking out the snow
for recreation. Eby noted more calls in Government Camp, including auto,
skiing, snowboarding and sledding accidents.

“We’ve had just about everything you could think of,” Eby said.
Eby added that parking on weekends has been “saturated” with vehicles,
including parking in spots he hasn’t seen previously, such as along Highway
26 by Snowbunny and Trillium snowparks.

The district also welcomed five new recruits into its training company, which
began on Saturday, Jan. 9.

The training company will have a more consistent schedule this year, meeting
every Friday evening and all day Saturday, with graduation on Wednesday,
June 29.

Following a retirement, the district has an open lieutenant position for the first
time in 20 years. The position is expected to be filled by one of the six paid
firefighter paramedics in the district, following an interview process that
includes a written exam, an exercise requiring candidates to prioritize and
justify 30 different topics, an interview with Chief Eby and a tactical exercise
that features a mock scenario.

Deputy Chief John Ingrao noted the new lieutenant is expected to be named
in early February.

Finally, the district was slated to hold its yearly awards banquet, including
naming the Firefighter of the Year, on Saturday, Jan. 30. Eby noted the theme
for this year’s banquet was “the Roarin’ 20s.”

The district’s awards banquet occurred after the print date for the February
edition. Look for the March Mountain Times for a recap and award winners.