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Wildfire Preparedness Weekend at World Forestry Center | April 27-28, 2024 | 9 am – 4 pm | Free Admission

As wildfire season approaches, Oregonians must take steps to protect their homes and communities. To help residents prepare, the Oregon State Fire Marshal, Portland Fire and Rescue, and World Forestry Center have partnered together to host a Wildfire Preparedness Weekend at the Discovery Museum on April 27 and 28 from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. This event offers residents a unique opportunity to learn how to reduce the risk of wildfires around their homes and communities and get involved in protecting our state from the threat of wildfires. Attendees can access expert speakers, interactive exhibits, and hands-on demonstrations. Admission is free for the whole event thanks to our sponsor, Portland General Electric. Learn more at worldforestry.org/wildfire-preparedness-weekend.

Portland Fire & Rescue was dispatched to a commercial fire located in the Overlook Neighborhood of North Portland at about 10:15am this morning.  The approximately 10,000 square foot building housed an automotive repair shop in one half and a space that was currently vacant in the other half. 

The first arriving truck company reported brown smoke coming from the garage bay door and as they were attempting to make entry realized the smoke was under significant pressure. At about that same time the first engine company and Chief Officer were arriving, and it was determined that the building needed to be ventilated prior to entry and a defensive fire attack was initiated. Due to the size of the building and the dangerous smoke conditions Command also called for a 2^nd alarm at this time.

This was a warehouse style building with very few windows and the fire yet to breach the roof, so it was determined that a large hole needed to be cut in the roof to provide pressure relief and allow firefighters to make entry to find and extinguish the fire. While the vertical ventilation was being done on the roof firefighters on the ground were preparing to make entry by forcing open locked doors but keeping them closed and preparing to cut holes in the large bay doors while also preparing hose lines for an offensive fire attack.

Once the hole was cut in the roof the dangerous smoke conditions quickly improved allowing for an offensive fire attack.  Crews entered the building, quickly found and extinguished the fire and the fire was recalled about 30 minutes after the initial call.  A few crews remained on scene after the recall to assist in ventilating the building and to continue to look for hot spots.   

No injuries were reported.  The cause of the fire is under investigation.

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Just after 8:15 AM, 9-1-1 received multiple calls reporting a fire and tapped out a single-alarm fire response in an industrial area of the St John’s Neighborhood in North Portland. Initial reports from callers stated that a large pile of wood products was on fire and that no homes or structures were threatened.

The first arriving Engine and Truck Companies from St John’s arrived within six minutes of being dispatched. The Engine officer took command of the incident and reported a large pile of pallets and wood debris with fire near the top of the pile. Knowing this had the potential as an extended incident from the onset, the first due Truck immediately set up its aerial ladder for an elevated master stream.

As additional units arrived, the first Chief Officer took Command. Incident Command then assigned the on-scene resources to the following tasks: establish a water supply, recon the area to ensure no exposures were present, confirm all individuals were accounted for, confirm the best access to the different areas of the wood pile, and set up for additional aerial master streams.

During the incident, water supply was a challenge due to the distance from the City of Portland hydrants and the private hydrants in the area. Because of this, the Incident Commander called for a second alarm response just before 9:30 AM. This brought additional fire response resources to the scene. Working with Portland Police and Portland Parks and Recreation, Fire crews had to shut down North Lombard for a portion of the morning and early afternoon to relay pump water to the scene.

Fire crews worked with site personnel who stated there were a lot of void spaces in the large pile of wood. Command sent a safety broadcast to fire companies on the scene so all personnel were made aware of this potential hazard. Site personnel then worked with fire companies to create a defensive fire break in the pile so the fire was contained. This was accomplished with the use of some heavy machinery and excavators that were already on site and were operated by the location’s employees.

With a fire break established and the material burning brought under control, Command began to release companies to go back into service. Three engines and three trucks will remain on the scene for an extended period to ensure extinguishment. A fire investigator was also called to the scene to assist in a fire cause determination. All traffic has been restored in the area. There were no injuries reported during this incident and no residents were displaced.

Portland Fire & Rescue would like to thank our partners with the Bureau of Emergency Communications (BOEC), Portland Parks & Recreation, Portland Police Bureau, Portland Water Bureau, Port of Portland Terminal 4, and Vancouver Fire Department. At the height of the incident, the following fire resources responded:

                Engines – 9

                Trucks – 5 

                Chief Officers – 5

                Rehab Unit – 1 

                Investigator – 1 

                Logistics/Apparatus Maintenance – 2

                PIO – 2

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PF&R CHAT and ORT Teams
Results of the first 30 days of ORT Service

Portland Fire & Rescue’s (PF&R) Community Health Assess & Treat (CHAT) is an innovative first response program that addresses non-emergent medical calls within our response area. In 2021 PF&R created CHAT to properly address the high numbers of low acuity (less critical) medical calls that are negatively impacting the pre-hospital care system. CHAT team members include EMT Basics, Paramedics, Supervisors and Registered Nurses. Two-person teams respond to non-emergent 911 calls and follow protocols to treat community members in the community, provide health education, access to healthcare and social services. A CHAT Follow-Up team reaches out to the community member within 24 hours after the original 911 call to ensure they have service connections they need. CHAT teams work with a wide variety of community partners to get this important work done. 

In partnership with CareOregon, CHAT teams provide an improved service to the community with the goals of reducing unnecessary Emergency Department (ED) visits, improving health literacy, and facilitating access to medical care instead of transporting to an ED. CHAT diverts 45% of their calls away from local hospital ED’s. The CHAT Follow-Up Team reduces additional calls from the 911 system and works one-on-one with clients to gain access to care and improve client knowledge of their disease process. 

To aid in the Fentanyl Crisis, CHAT operates a specialized Overdose Response Team (ORT) in the city core along with piloting an innovative Medication for Opioid Use Disorder program aimed at providing medication assisted treatment for substance use disorder at the time of the 911 call, rather than transporting patients to already crowded ED’s. CHAT 1 focusses their efforts within the city core as this is where many of the overdose responses occur. CHAT 1 operates out of Fire Station 1 and will be dispatched directly to all P23 overdose incidents withing the Station 1 Fire Management Area (FMA) and will add themselves to OD incidents outside the primary FMA if they can access the patient in a timely manner, which they do regularly. Providing access to medication at the time of the 911 call provides the right treatment at the right time for this disease and saves lives by assisting more individuals into treatment programs. Attached to this release is a document that summarizes the successes of the first 30 days of ORT operation.

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