Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue contains West Linn house fire

Published 2:21 pm Thursday, July 24, 2025

This story has been updated. 

Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue responded to a fire on Autumn View Court in West Linn that started around 11 a.m. on Thursday, July 24. Crews were able to contain the fire by mid-afternoon.

The fire was reported a little bit before 11 a.m. by a neighbor who identified that there was an individual inside the two-story home. A cause of the fire was not immediately identified by investigators on the scene. 

Fire crews initiated a search and rescue to identify the resident and used a ladder to rescue him from the second-story balcony of the house.

First responders at a fire on Autumn View Court. (Courtesy photo: Stacy Epsteen)

“He was checked out by our paramedics and then transported to the hospital, just as a precaution,” said Fuhrer. 

TVF&R said that an investigation into the cause of the fire began as soon as crews began the “mop up” phase of containment. During the response, firefighters closed Hidden Springs Road from Wildwood Drive to Oak Tree Court. 

“I was on my way up Hidden Springs at about 11 am just behind a firetruck with sirens on. When I looked over to my right a saw a home at the top of Autumn Way that was on fire. It looked like the roof and top floor was totally engulfed. I just left the scene. At last count eight firetrucks,” said neighbor Stacy Epsteen. “I believe the house may be totaled. A terrible tragedy.”

The city of West Linn released a statement on Facebook that said, “Also, due to the amount of water being used, residents may notice discolored water. Residents should run their cold taps to clear any discoloration.” 

In residential fire responses, fire crews prioritize safety and rescue, followed by containment of the spread. 

“In this case, it was fully involved by the time that we got there, which is I don’t want to say unusual, but it would indicate that perhaps this wasn’t reported until after the fire had been able to get going for a while and it becomes more challenging to bring that under control …we had fire from three sides of a four-side structure,” said TVFR public information officer Jacob Fuhrer. “It’s a two- story house, so our crews are currently working to prevent it from spreading into the vegetation, the kind of dense vegetation that’s behind the structure, and then make sure that it doesn’t spread to any surrounding homes.”