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Three Hillsboro Fire Inspectors awarded state certifications

Submitted by KATU Communitie... on Fri, 2010-03-19 08:00

The Office of State Fire Marshal (OFSM) presented Fire and Life Safety Specialist II certifications to three Hillsboro Fire Inspectors in a brief ceremony at Hillsboro Fire Station No. 3 earlier this week.

OFSM Supervising Deputy David Jones presented the certifications to Hillsboro Fire Inspectors Charles Marble, Doug Nolan and Joseph Ligatich. The Oregon Office of the State Fire Marshal certifies fire inspectors following voluntary completion of a training regimen, achieving technical expertise, and gaining the necessary experience on the job.

Each inspector has become proficient in the standards set by the National Fire Protection Association and the International Code Council, the Building Codes, the Mechanical code and all Fire Code updates.

Hillsboro Fire Inspectors make regular checks of businesses within the city looking for fire code compliance. They look for life safety hazards such as blocked exit ways, improper storage of flammable materials or overloading of electrical circuits.

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Hillsboro Fire Department hires new Logistics Chief

Submitted by KATU Communitie... on Thu, 2010-03-18 08:00

Hillsboro Fire and Rescue has hired Scott Malone as its new Logistics Battalion Chief.

Malone replaces retired Division Chief Don Schallberger, formerly the EMS and Special Operations Chief, who had been working as interim Logistics Chief to help the Department keep pace with facility and equipment repairs.

"Chief Malone brings with him a great deal of experience that can benefit Hillsboro," said Fire Chief Gary Seidel. "We're pleased to have a fire officer of his caliber join our ranks."

Malone, 35, has been in the fire service since 1993. During the past 11 years, he has risen through the ranks at Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue as a Firefighter, Apparatus Operator, and has served the last eight years as a Lieutenant. Chief Malone has been an Incident Safety Officer, Incident Management Team Member, Tactical EMS Liaison and Quality Improvement Team Member. He holds specialized certifications as a Nationally Registered Paramedic, National Fire Protection Association Vehicle Extrication Technician, Structural Collapse, Tactical Emergency Medical Support, and Advanced Incident Command System.

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Judge sentences Serrano to lethal injection

Submitted by Valerie Hurst on Tue, 2010-03-16 12:22

HILLSBORO, Ore. – For the first time in three years, an Oregon man will head to death row.

Ricardo Serrano, 34, murdered a mother and her two children – the family of his own wife’s lover – in their Bethany home in 2006 and today a Washington County judge handed him three sentences: death by lethal injection for killing Melody Dang and her two sons, teenagers Steven and Jimmy.

Families of those close to the victims and those close to Serrano were both in the courtroom. A friend to the deceased told Judge Steven Price that everyone who knows those who died will suffer because of what Serrano did.

Serrano, however, did not seem phased by the verdict. He was smiling on two different occasions while in the courtroom. It was only when a friend of the victims told the judge Serrano was a cold and calculated killer that Serrano showed some frustration.

Dan Thompson, a family friend of the victims, said he wasn’t surprised Serrano never looked at him after Thompson had looked at Serrano several times.

“He was a coward in doing what he did so I figured he'd turn his tail and run away today, too,” Thompson said.

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Wednesday house fire damages Hillsboro home

Submitted by KATU Communitie... on Thu, 2010-03-11 13:55

A one-alarm house fire forced a Hillsboro family of four from its home Wednesday night.

The fire was reported to 911 dispatchers at 7:06 p.m. at 921 Roundelay Street. When Hillsboro Fire and Rescue personnel rrived six minutes later, they found all of the occupants safely outside of the two-story home and smoke coming from the garage windows and from the second floor front windows. Fire fighters made entry to the garage through an interior door and found the garage filled with heavy smoke and heat. They quickly knocked down the flames containing the fire damage to the garage. The fire was under control two minutes later.

The homeowner said he smelled smoke and after he discovered a fire in the garage. He immediately got his two children, who were home with him at the time, outside and called 911. He was later treated on the scene and transported to a local hospital by Metro West Ambulance for injuries he sustained in the fire.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation and no damage amounts have been determined. The fire caused heat and smoke damage to the garage. There was light smoke damage in the remainder of the home.

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Hillsboro police employees honored by local club

Submitted by KATU Communitie... on Tue, 2010-03-09 10:07

The Hillsboro Optimist Club held its annual Respect For Law Awards on March 9 at the Hillsboro Senior Center, a ceremony to honors local police for their dedication to and advocacy for youth.

This year, the award recipients were Brandon Peck, an HPD records specialist, for his off-duty coaching and mentoring of youth, and for leading by example.

Also receiving the award was Officer Kevin Harrison, a Hillsboro police officer. Harrison was recognized for his 10 years of coaching and mentoring kids while coaching a variety of levels with the Hillsboro Soccer Club. Kevin has been a great mentor of youth in this off duty endeavor.

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Learn almost all there is to know at a scleroderma seminar

Submitted by KATU Communitie... on Mon, 2010-03-08 09:00

The Oregon Chapter of the Scleroderma Foundation has announced that Dr. Catherine J. Markin – a noted specialist in pulmonary disease and critical care medicine at Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center, and Director of the Legacy Pulmonary Hypertension Program – will present the 9th Annual Cheri Woo Education Seminar’s keynote address scheduled for March 13 at Tuality Health Education Center in Hillsboro (334 Southeast 8th Avenue, Hillsboro, OR 97123-4201).

The free public seminar runs 10 a.m. through 3 p.m.

Free parking is available, and the site is easily accessible by public transportation via the MAX Blue Line to the Tuality Hospital/SE 8th Ave MAX Station.

Dr. Markin will offer "Lung Disease in Systemic Sclerosis: New Insights and Treatment Options" as part of the chapter’s daylong line-up of expert presentations and interactive panel discussions intended to increase overall education and raise regional awareness of scleroderma, also known as systemic sclerosis.

In addition to Dr. Markin, the seminar is scheduled to present Dr.

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Driver arrested for hit and run after hitting jogger with car

Submitted by KATU Communitie... on Fri, 2010-03-05 09:55

A woman who was jogging along SW Walker Road in Beaverton was struck Thursday by a car after she ran out into traffic.

The woman suffered a severely broken leg. The driver, who was not at fault, fled the scene and was later arrested by Washington County Sheriff's Deputies.

The female jogger was running east on SW Walker Road near SW Wynwood Avenue when she attempted to cross the street, but failed to look behind her. A 1986 Chevrolet Celebrity, driven by Christopher Burns, 33, struck her from behind and eventually transported to Emanuel Hospital. Burns fled the scene, but not before his license plate was recorded by a witness.

After an investigation, deputies traced the car to an apartment complex at 6046 SE Drake Street in Hillsboro.

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Sheriff's office offers workshop for parents on teen driving

Submitted by KATU Communitie... on Tue, 2010-03-02 13:17

The final workshop in the current Parent University series will be held on from 6:30-8:30 p.m. March 10 at the Washington County Sheriff's Office Training Center (215 SW Adams Avenue in Hillsboro).

The topic for March is designed to provide parents of teens and pre-teens with helpful information about teaching their children to drive safely and ways to encourage teens to take responsibility for their own driving behavior.

According to the National Safety Council, traffic crashes are the leading cause of teen fatalities, accounting for 38 percent of all teen deaths in the United States. Many communities in Washington County have also been struck by tragic accidents involving teenage friends, classmates or family members.

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Singelakis hired for one of Washington County's top jobs

Submitted by KATU Communitie... on Mon, 2010-02-15 09:00

Andrew Singelakis has been named as the director of Washington County's Department of Land Use and Transportation (LUT) beginning.

Singelakis, who will begin his job in early March, is currently the deputy director of the City of Tucson, Ariz., (population 550,000) Department of Transportation, which has a budget of approximately $200 million and 700 employees, including transit services. Prior to that, Singelakis was the deputy director of Tucson's Department of Urban Planning and Design.

From 1997 to 2004, Singelakis was the executive director of the Nashua, N.H., Regional Planning Commission, which is the metropolitan planning organization responsible for land use and transportation planning and environmental management for a 12-community region with a population of 250,000 located 35 miles from Boston. Earlier, he served as the director of planning for the Town of Brunswick, ME, and as a planner for communities in Vermont, N.H.

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Hillsboro Fire Marshal achieves state certification

Submitted by KATU Communitie... on Thu, 2010-02-11 09:43

Hillsboro Fire Marshal John Rinier has been certified by the Oregon State Fire Marshal's Office as an Oregon Fire Marshal.

The award was presented Wednesday to Rinier by Supervising State Fire Marshal David Jones at the Hillsboro Civic Center.

The Oregon Office of the State Fire Marshal certifies fire inspectors following voluntary completion of a training regimen, achieving technical expertise, and gaining the necessary experience on the job. In addition, the candidates must complete Task Books attesting they have successfully completed the specified activities. The Oregon Fire Marshal certificate recognizes outstanding merit and accomplishment demonstrating the competencies identified for Fire Marshal within the State of Oregon. 

Rinier is a member of the National Fire Protection Association, International Code Council, Oregon Fire Marshal Association, International Association of Arson Investigators, National Fire Sprinkler Association, and is involved in code development through the Oregon Fire Code Committee. As the Fire Marshal, he manages the Fire Prevention Division.

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