Portland Fire & Rescue responded to a residential and commercial fire separated by a block with the incidents dispatched out two minutes apart. The first fire, a residence, was tapped out at 12:37 PM with reports of a possible kitchen fire. The second fire, tapped out 2 minutes later at 12:39 PM, was initiated because of a water flow sprinkler activation for a restaurant located within a block from the house fire. These events put 58 members of PF&R en route to this area of SE Portland that borders the Powellhurst-Gilbert and Montavilla Neighborhoods. These events nearly cleared out all members on the east side of the Willamette River that are on duty as they responded to the area in question.
A residential fire response will summon 4 fire engines and 2 fire trucks each with 4 members along with 2 chiefs to the address in question. Upon arrival of the 1½ story home with a basement, crews reported heavy smoke pushing out from the back of the home along with out the front door that was left ajar. Face to face communication with a resident indicated all occupants had safely evacuated prior to the arrival of any fire crew. An offensive fire attack was directed by the command officer which has crews take handheld hose lines inside the structure to suppress the flames. The main body of fire in the kitchen area was extinguished quickly.
There was some concern that the fire has extended upward in the ½ story of living space over the kitchen and any unoccupied attic space area. Crews advanced the hoses upstairs and cooled any hidden hotspots found by pulling ceiling material in the lower floor and opening walls upstairs to expose areas susceptible to hide any visible fire. While fire attack crews were working with the hose lines, other members of PF&R thoroughly searched the home for any resident to ensure the safety of all occupants and performed ventilation tasks by opening windows and cutting holes in the roof. All search efforts validated arrival information that all residents were safely outside of the structure uninjured.  All seven residents of this three generational family are uninjured but will be displaced until the home is tenable.
The residents will temporarily stay with family that live nearby as plans for repair are initiated and complete. This fire is currently under investigation.Â
While crews were actively working on the residential fire, a second fire alarm assignment of 4 engines, 2 trucks, and 2 chiefs was dispatched out due to the activation of a sprinkler system within a restaurant less than 300’ away from the house fire. This was initiated by an automatic alarm sent to the BOEC Dispatch Command Center because of the water flow activation in a monitored commercial alarm. The first arriving engine found a sprinkler head flowing water in the preparation area in the kitchen of a restaurant. This sprinkler head was not near any heat source and began flowing because of a mechanical damage or impact to the sprinkler head – something bumped it. With no fire problem, all crews were quickly cleared from this incident. The commercial restaurant is in contact with their alarm company for a sprinkler head replacement and their operation unaffected by the water flow activation.
The residential began in a cooking area in the home. Portland Fire and Rescue in a press release on Friday reminded citizens to always stay vigilant when actively cooking using a heat source. Never leave the kitchen when a burner on the stove is hot, set alarms to check food within an oven, and set timers to return to external BBQ appliances to reduce the chances of an undesired spread of any fire or heat being used in the cooking of food.
