Barn saved from fire with quick thinking, hydroseeding truck

A bystander working on a seed-planting project drove his hydroseeding truck to a burning barn next door in the Ridgefield area Tuesday afternoon, then sprayed it with seed mix and helped save the structure, according to a fire district spokesman. Another man was hospitalized with burns to his hands.

Firefighters were called around 2:15 p.m. to a barn fire south of Ridgefield, at 506 N.E. 209th St.

“Interestingly enough, the fire was initially attacked by a guy with a hydroseed truck,” Clark County Fire & Rescue Division Chief Tim Dawdy said.

Dawdy said Garrett Elmer of North Fork Landscaping was next door spraying a slurry of seeds, water and mulch when he heard a man yelling for help and about his burning barn.

Elmer drove his truck to the front door of the barn, then sprayed the hydroseed mix inside and into the fire.

“It’s the darnedest thing I’ve ever seen,” Dawdy said.

Firefighters arrived to find a blue-green sludge over parts of the barn, then took over. Dawdy said the fire was brought under control quickly, thanks in part to Elmer’s resourcefulness.

A 65-year-old man was taken to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center’s burn unit with burns to his hands, Dawdy said.

The Clark County Fire Marshal’s Office was investigating the fire.