Early Saturday morning, Rebecca Aguila Siefke and her family awoke to the smell of smoke and found a fire burning in the garage.
HILLSBORO, Ore. — On Monday, a Hillsboro fire investigator determined the cause of a weekend fire that displaced a family of five and their pets to be the failure of a battery being charged in the home’s garage.
Firefighters first got the call around 6 a.m. on Saturday morning, and responded to Southeast Cypress Street near Southeast 30th Avenue. Callers told dispatch that flames were coming from the home’s garage and extending above the roof.
Due to reports of heavy fire and smoke, Hillsboro Fire & Rescue upgraded the call to a first alarm, bringing in additional crews and resources to the scene.
Homeowners Rebecca Aguila Siefke and Shawn Siefke described the chaos of that morning to KGW. First a car alarm, and then the smell of …