Amity blaze destroys two manufactured homes, vehicles
Crews and equipment from multiple agencies responded shortly after midnight Wednesday to a pair of residential fires northeast of Amity. About a half dozen people escaped the structures unharmed.
An on-duty Yamhill County Sheriff's Office deputy was first contacted at the Amity substation, located adjacent to city hall, regarding a house fire on Highway 233, according to Amity Fire District Training Division Chief Scott Law.
Simultaneously, the Yamhill Communications Agency 911 dispatch center began receiving calls from residents in the 8300 block of Highway 233 related to a structure fire, Law said.
Personnel from the Amity and Dayton fire districts, in addition to the McMinnville Fire Department, arrived immediately after sheriff's office deputies began evacuating neighboring houses due to the size and location of the fire.
A large flame and smoke plume was visible from Amity, several miles away. A second alarm brought additional crews and equipment to the scene.
A doublewide and singlewide manufactured home were fully involved and the blaze was also consuming vehicles and had spread to trees. The homes were a total loss.
An aggressive firefighting attack was initiated on the homes and the blaze was brought under control. However, the occupants lost all of their possessions.
With no fire hydrants available in the area, water had to be shuttled to the scene. Tenders from Amity, Dayton, McMinnville and Sheridan/Southwest Polk/West Valley Fire District transported about 21,000 gallons of water.
The American Red Cross Cascades Region is assisting displaced residents. One was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation.
Highway 233 was closed for several hours to allow crews and equipment access to the scene.
The Yamhill County Fire Investigation Team is working to determine a cause. A wood stove in one of the homes might have been responsible for setting off the blaze.
Fifteen pieces of equipment and 36 personnel responded.
Comments
myopinion
From what I understand from their gofundme, they didn't have any homeowners insurance.
bonnybedlam
Manufactured homes, especially older ones and ones with wood stoves in them, can be difficult if not impossible to insure. It's a tragedy all the way around. Hopefully they'll be back on their feet soon.