“…the building’s fire sprinkler system activated in the attic and stopped that fire from spreading to the rest of the hotel…Fire investigators said the fire started in bark dust and they believe the fire had been burning for some 
time…The fire caused at least $75,000 in damages to the building and its contents…”
A cigarette is to blame for a fire that damaged the side of the Best Western Hotel in Forest Grove on Sunday afternoon. Firefighters were called to the hotel at 3933 Pacific Ave. at about 2:45 p.m. to reports of a fire burning up the side of the building.
When fire crews arrived, they were able to put the fire out, but not before it had spread up the two-story hotel.
Hotel guests had reported smelling smoke earlier in the day, but nothing was ever found.
A hotel housekeeper first spotted the fire and quickly started to evacuate about a dozen guests at the hotel.
Officials said another housekeeper grabbed a fire extinguisher but the fire was already burning inside the wall space. Staff at the hotel are working to find another hotel in the area for displaced guests.
Fire officials said this is one of several fires in bark dust that has occurred over the last week in Washington County.
For more:Â http://www.kptv.com/story/19558127/fire-damages-forest-grove-hotel
