As firefighters continued to attack a large fire at a Government Camp condominium complex Tuesday, area residents were put on a boil water alert, reports kgw.com.
Owners told KGW there were not fire extinguishers inside the units, because the condos were so old.
Firefighters were expected to use at least 1.5 million gallons of water to fight the massive fire that broke out Monday afternoon and continued to burn on Tuesday.
Customers of the water utility that serves Government Camp were advised to expect low water pressure as a result of the efforts and should boil all water used for drinking until further notice.
The three-alarm fire started around 3 p.m. Monday, and witnesses reported hearing multiple explosions before the fire began. One resident told police that there were 30 pounds of gunpowder in one of the units.
It took firefighters 11 minutes to get to the fire at theGolden Poles Chalet, just south of Highway 26, following the initial call. Dozens of fire agencies eventually responded to the scene.
Crews said all five full-time condo residents were safe, but they were unsure about people in other rental units, according to KGW reporterKyle Iboshi,who was reporting from the scene.
A deputy fire chief at the scene said his crews weren’t able to check the rental units on the first and second floors because of safety issues.
Firefighters went door-to-door in the smoke-choked building at seven units before they had to back off.
Investigators did not yet know why the fire started, but a resident told police that one unit had 30 pounds of gunpowder in it before the fire.
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