HAPPY VALLEY, Ore. (KOIN) — As the search continues for whoever set the fire that destroyed an empty fiberglass warehouse in Happy Valley, nearby residents are still wondering about the communication they received about the fire.
A massive 3-alarm fire destroyed Miles Fiberglass, 8855 SE Otty Road in Happy Valley in the early hours of Saturday. Fire officials evacuated the nearby Rosewood Station Apartments for health reasons, but lifted those evacuations Sunday afternoon.
Megan Bell, who lives at Rosewood Station, told KOIN 6 News she “received an advisory from the emergency broadcast system at 7:30 in the morning, and it just said to stay indoors. It did not say to evacuate.”
She stayed inside but got confused by another notice around 1:40 p.m.
“We received another notice from the Emergency Broadcast System saying that the shelter in place was no longer needed and that my address should stay remained evacuated. But we had never received any notice to evacuate. We didn’t receive the evacuation advisory until 6 p.m., and by that time the fire had been out for a long time,” Bell said.
She did not speak with any county or health officials that day, she said.
“If they were supposed to do door-to-door evacuations, that was not done properly,” she said. “They knocked on the door one time. We opened the door. No one was there. They didn’t leave any notices.”
The concern was the presence of asbestos from the fire.
“Given all the information from the air tests as well as visual inspections inside the apartment buildings, Clackamas County Public Health believes the chance of finding significant asbestos in these surface tests will be low, and no longer warrants a recommendation that keeps people out of their homes,” Dr. Sarah Present said at a Sunday night community meeting.
Clackamas County officials told KOIN 6 News they used multiple ways to get in touch with tenants, including through information from the property management company. That information may not have been updated, they said. KOIN 6 News reached out to the property management company but have not yet heard back.
Test results for possible asbestos are expected Wednesday or Thursday.
