Canby, Ore.- At 11:33 today Canby Fire responded to a Commercial fire at Rose-Agri seed 29975 S Barlow Rd. There were reports of heavy smoke, flames and up to 4 large propane tanks in the building.
When the Battalion Chief arrived the smoke was so heavy blowing across Barlow road he could not see the building until he was through the smoke and past the building at that time a 2nd alarm was called bringing more firefighters.
Since this is a rural area without fire hydrants the water had to be trucked to the scene. Firefighters were not able to enter the building because of intense heat and the building was very unstable. They cooled the propane tanks and cut large holes in the building to access the fire. It took 40 firefighters from Canby, Molalla, Monitor, Hubbard, Colton, Aurora, TVFR and Clackamas FD #1 1 hr. and 40 minutes to control the blaze.
Rose-Agri Seed used this 60′x 40′ building for research and development of new grass seed products. The fire started during a grass seed drying process. The building and contents were a total loss estimated at $100,000 to process and building.
Source: Canby Fire District