Hillsboro House Fire Leaves Two Adults Without Home – KXL

A fire broke out at a Hillsboro residence around 10:15 this morning on the 5000 block of SE Patterson Street. No one was home at the time of the fire and no injuries were reported.

Crews were alerted by neighborhood tips after seeing smoke outside the garage area.

“The call was upgraded to a first-alarm given the fact that it was a fully-involved home and a working fire,” Hillsboro Fire PIO Piseth Pich said.

“The smoke plume itself was reported to be seen as far away as the Hillsboro Airport,” Pich continued. “Our crews en route knew they had a working fire situation.”

Neighbors said they saw the residents in their garage earlier in the morning, but were not home at the time of the fire.

Pich says neighbors told crews they hadn’t seen the car parked out front, knowing the victims weren’t home.

“It’s not clear exactly how long they were gone. It might’ve just been an errand that they were running,” Pich said.

“They returned back about 30 minutes (after) our first crews (arrived),” Pich continued. “They also helped confirm that no one was inside.”

While there is no cause of how the fire began, Pich says what firefighters thought may have started the blaze.

“There were some small explosions,” Pich said.

“The fire crews deduced that most likely those were small propane tanks that you would typically find as part of a barbecue,” Pich continued. “There wasn’t any sort of risk to their safety. It was a typical item you would find in a home.”

The fire remains under investigation.