Portland Fire & Rescue were called out to a fire at the former Rodeway Inn at the corner of NE Sandy and NE Lombard. PF&R was dispatched to a possible fire at 5 AM this morning. The first arriving engine took command of the scene and confirmed smoke and flames present in one of the apartments living spaces on the street level and directed his team to perform an offensive fire attack, taking the hose interior to extinguish the flames. The driver of the first arriving engine did a search of the adjacent rooms and confirmed they were all clear.
The next arriving engine was assigned water supply and it was discovered the closest fire hydrant available was a few blocks away. This completely emptied the beds of all hose to connect to the fire hydrant and get the water that was potentially needed in future fire extinguishment actions. The third arriving engine was assigned search and rescue of the building focusing on the second level as the adjacent rooms had already been checked.
Firefighting crews quickly extinguished the fire within minutes of receiving the call from the emergency dispatach center. In the process of their firefighting tasks, the interior firefighting crew found a body in the room and removed the individual who was later confirmed as a fatality at the scene.
The building was a concrete structure with a brick façade that kept all fire contained to the room of origin with no other rooms affected by the fire. No one will be displaced. This is a former hotel that is operated by DO GOOD Multnomah, a service provider for the joint offices of homeless services of Multnomah County and the City of Portland.
The cause of the fire is currently being evaluated by PF&R Investigations Unit with the initial assessment indicating no criminal intent believed. The process of notifying next of kin of the fire victim is ongoing.
