Portland Fire & Rescue was dispatched to a possible residential fire in the Kenton Neighborhood of North Portland. Crews arrived to have light smoke pushing out of one side of the house but did not observe any active fire at the time of arrival. There were reports from dispatch that there was a possibility of a resident remaining on the inside of the structure. Command directed the crew to perform an immediate search while coordinating with the remainder of the responder to perform fire suppression activities. The fire, mainly in the contents of the home and not the structure, was extinguished quickly as the occupant was located and removed from the home. It was determined that the resident had not survived and was a confirmed fire fatality on scene.
At 6:36 AM fire crews were dispatched to a residential fire in the 2400 block of N Schofield. The first crew to arrive was a truck company and was assigned to search the structure for the possible missing resident while the following companies, primarily fire engines, were assigned firefighting tasks of establishing a water supply from the fire hydrant to extending hoses into the structure and suppressing the flames. With much on the search and eliminating the fire present, there was a reduced amount of radio traffic on the fire. The predominate message from crews on the interior was the home was filled with heavy clutter with hoarder conditions that were a challenge to the crews searching and advancing hose lines to the upstairs where the fire seemed to be located. In just over 10 minutes after the fire was dispatched, the fire was reported extinguished, and the victim had been removed from the home.
The cause of the fire is currently under investigation. Portland Fire would like to thank the dispatchers for their assistance in this emergency incident. Portland Fire & Rescue would like to remind you that smoke alarms save lives. Placement of a working smoke detector in each sleeping area of the home is the best way to ensure that occupants of a home are alerted to an active fire emergency. Take the time today to check that your home smoke detector is operational.
