FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – August 12, 2020
CONTACT: Scott Stanton, Fire Chief
541-667-5135, sstanton@ucfd1.com

Two Houses, Four Vehicles Damaged in Early Morning Fire
HERMISTON — Umatilla County Fire District #1 responded to a Tuesday morning fire that
damaged two houses and four vehicles in Hermiston.

The call came in at 4:59 a.m. for a house fire in the 200 block of West Ridgeway. The first crew
to arrive found one house fully involved and the carport of the house to the east also on fire.
Four vehicles were parked between the houses and one was also on fire.

EMTs transported one woman from the residence that was on fire to Good Shepherd Medical
Center for possible smoke inhalation, and she was later flown to a Portland area hospital. The
occupant of the house to the east was out of town at the time of the fire.

Fire crews began a defensive attack on both houses, then began an interior attack on the house
to the east to try to douse the flames. After two hours the fire was under control, but there was
substantial damage to both buildings and all four vehicles.

“As is becoming more common, lack of staffing and volunteers put us in a difficult position as
we attacked a very complicated and dangerous fire,” said Fire Chief Scott Stanton. “We had to
remain on scene for a good portion of the morning and divert new calls for service to other
agencies.”

A total of 24 personnel responded to the fire, including 18 from UCFD1. Volunteers from
Umatilla and Echo rural fire departments provided mutual aid.
Fire Marshal Scott Goff estimated the total damage to the houses, contents and vehicles at
$400,000.

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The Umatilla County Fire District #1 provides fire, rescue, and emergency medical services for the
citizens of the Hermiston and Stanfield area, as well as ambulance service to the cities of Echo and
Umatilla. Our career and volunteer employees respond to over 4,800 incidents annually from five
stations.