Fire victims turn out to be firefighter's daughter, family

GLADSTONE, Ore. -- A volunteer firefighter who responded to a call arrived to find that the apartment burning was his daughter's.

Battalion Chief Randy Hopperstad was the first to arrive at the scene and almost immediately realized that the heavy flames and smoke were shooting from the back of the second-story apartment that his daughter--his only child--shared with her husband and their 3-year-old son.

He could only stand and watch as crews removed Amy Boetger, 22, and her husband and son from the apartment. Michael Boetger, 24, and the son, Randon, were pronounced dead at Willamette Falls Hospital in Oregon City on Tuesday.

Amy Boetger remains in critical condition in the burn unit at Legacy Emanuel Hospital. She is on advanced life support and has burns over 11 percent of her body. She also is being treated for smoke inhalation, hospital spokeswoman Quita Lupfer said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but authorities are exploring several possibilities, said Troy Buzalsky, spokesman for the Clackamas County Fire Department.

The fire started in the dining room, he said.

Investigators were looking into whether anyone in the family smoked. They also said multiple candles may have been lit in the apartment, Buzalsky said Wednesday.

Grief counselors and American Red Cross workers were at the scene to speak with firefighters and the residents who were evacuated.

"It was very emotionally upsetting for all of us," said Fire Chief Charles Ames, who has been with the department 32 years and worked with Hopperstad's father, Ray, a former volunteer firefighter. "I saw Randy grow up. And then Amy. And I was seeing Randon grow up."

Firefighters arrived at the Gladstone apartment about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday and found the two-story wood-frame complex engulfed in flames.

The 16 families who lived there were temporarily displaced and are being housed by the Red Cross.

Several firefighters were treated for exhaustion, fatigue and emotional distress.

Philip Holte said he was visiting his 82-year-old grandmother when the fire broke out.

"It was panic," he said. "People were screaming. The manager said he was trying to squirt his hose in there. Apparently it was rather late by then."