Portland Fire & Rescue Responds To Overnight House Fire With One Fatality (Photo)
- 10/29/25
At 3:45 am this morning, Portland Fire & Rescue crews were dispatched to a house fire in the Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhood. Upon their arrival on scene three minutes later, the first arriving crew reported a single-story house with heavy fire involvement to the back side and smoke issuing from all sides of the house. Crews immediately began fire attack and search and rescue efforts.
Upon entering the house, firefighters were confronted with extreme clutter conditions, reported as floor to ceiling clutter, which made accessing all areas of the house a challenge. At 3:51 am, the Truck 7 crew made access into the structure via a window on the left side of the house, into the living room area; the firefighter who entered through the window reported high heat conditions in this area of the house, which began to improve as crews applied water to the fire. At 3:54 am, this Truck 7 firefighter reported finding a victim in this area, who was then extricated from the house from this window using a ladder. The victim was removed from the house at 3:56 am and the Squad 12 crew began patient care efforts. Tragically, this victim was found to be deceased.
Fire suppression efforts continued using multiple hose lines, with the main body of the fire knocked down at 3:59 am and the fire was reported to be fully under control at 4:05 am. The victim was the sole occupant of this house and the victim’s cat is currently unaccounted for and is possibly deceased.
Investigators with PF&R’s Fire Investigations Unit are currently on scene working to determine the cause of this fire. A total of 30 PF&R members worked at this fire, comprising four engines, two ladder trucks, one squad, and two battalion chiefs.
PF&R would like to thank PGE for assisting with power shut down to this house and TIPS volunteers for assisting a family member of the victim. PF&R would like to remind Portlanders that working smoke alarms save lives, especially in fires that occur at night. It’s recommended to have smoke alarms inside every bedroom and also on every floor of the residence outside of bedrooms.
Portland Fire & Rescue Responds To Overnight House Fire With One Fatality (Photo)
- 10/29/25
At 3:45 am this morning, Portland Fire & Rescue crews were dispatched to a house fire in the Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhood. Upon their arrival on scene three minutes later, the first arriving crew reported a single-story house with heavy fire involvement to the back side and smoke issuing from all sides of the house. Crews immediately began fire attack and search and rescue efforts.
Upon entering the house, firefighters were confronted with extreme clutter conditions, reported as floor to ceiling clutter, which made accessing all areas of the house a challenge. At 3:51 am, the Truck 7 crew made access into the structure via a window on the left side of the house, into the living room area; the firefighter who entered through the window reported high heat conditions in this area of the house, which began to improve as crews applied water to the fire. At 3:54 am, this Truck 7 firefighter reported finding a victim in this area, who was then extricated from the house from this window using a ladder. The victim was removed from the house at 3:56 am and the Squad 12 crew began patient care efforts. Tragically, this victim was found to be deceased.
Fire suppression efforts continued using multiple hose lines, with the main body of the fire knocked down at 3:59 am and the fire was reported to be fully under control at 4:05 am. The victim was the sole occupant of this house and the victim’s cat is currently unaccounted for and is possibly deceased.
Investigators with PF&R’s Fire Investigations Unit are currently on scene working to determine the cause of this fire. A total of 30 PF&R members worked at this fire, comprising four engines, two ladder trucks, one squad, and two battalion chiefs.
PF&R would like to thank PGE for assisting with power shut down to this house and TIPS volunteers for assisting a family member of the victim. PF&R would like to remind Portlanders that working smoke alarms save lives, especially in fires that occur at night. It’s recommended to have smoke alarms inside every bedroom and also on every floor of the residence outside of bedrooms.
Second Alarm Fire At Jopp Wood Recycling — Quick Response Prevents Spread (Photo)
- 10/27/25
Just after 1:55 PM, 9-1-1 received a call to an industrial area of the St John’s Neighborhood in North Portland. Initial reports from the caller 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 minutes of being dispatched. The Engine officer took command of the incident and reported a large pile of pallets and wood debris with smoke throughout the pile. Crews are aware of this location as over the past couple years, similar fires have been extinguished here. With this prior knowledge and experience, the first due Truck immediately set up its aerial ladder for an elevated master stream. This elevated master stream allows firefighters to reach deep-seated fire within the pile.
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 the best access to the different areas of the wood pile, and set up for additional aerial master streams.
As this fire came in in the early hours of the morning, fire crews initially applied water from these elevated master streams. As site personnel returned to the site, they worked with firefigheters to spread out the wood pile and extinguish any hot spots. 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. Four engines and three trucks remain on the scene this morning after the incident was recalled to ensure extinguishment. 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 Water Bureau, and Port of Portland Terminal 4.
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Second Alarm Fire At Jopp Wood Recycling — Quick Response Prevents Spread (Photo)
- 10/27/25
Just after 1:55 PM, 9-1-1 received a call to an industrial area of the St John’s Neighborhood in North Portland. Initial reports from the caller 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 minutes of being dispatched. The Engine officer took command of the incident and reported a large pile of pallets and wood debris with smoke throughout the pile. Crews are aware of this location as over the past couple years, similar fires have been extinguished here. With this prior knowledge and experience, the first due Truck immediately set up its aerial ladder for an elevated master stream. This elevated master stream allows firefighters to reach deep-seated fire within the pile.
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 the best access to the different areas of the wood pile, and set up for additional aerial master streams.
As this fire came in in the early hours of the morning, fire crews initially applied water from these elevated master streams. As site personnel returned to the site, they worked with firefigheters to spread out the wood pile and extinguish any hot spots. 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. Four engines and three trucks remain on the scene this morning after the incident was recalled to ensure extinguishment. 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 Water Bureau, and Port of Portland Terminal 4.
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PF&R Responds To Second Alarm Apartment Fire Caused By Unattended Candle **Update W/Additional Photos** (Photo)
- 10/17/25
At just past midnight this morning, Portland Fire & Rescue crews were dispatched to an apartment fire in a four-story apartment building in the Bridlemile neighborhood on Beaverton Hillsdale Highway. Upon their arrival, crews began search and rescue as well as fire suppression operations. A second alarm was called by Incident Command at 12:15 am to have additional resources available to assist with any potential rescue and evacuation needs and to have enough firefighters on scene in case this fire extended into the structure.
Crews found a room and contents fire in an extremely cluttered 4th floor apartment unit that was partially suppressed by the building’s sprinkler system. Crews stretched a hose line to this unit and quickly extinguished the remainder of the fire. Crews found that this fire did not extend into the structure beyond this single apartment unit. Building occupants either self-evacuated or sheltered in place. There were no injuries related to this fire, however one occupant was evaluated by EMS for a possible panic attack. Several apartment residents were displaced from 3rd floor apartments due to water damage and the Red Cross is assisting these occupants.
40 minutes after dispatch, responding second alarm companies were turned around and sent back to their stations and on scene crews began to address water issues in the building due to the sprinkler activation and to ventilate smoke from the structure.
An investigator from PF&R’s Fire Investigations Unit determined that this fire was caused by an unattended candle. The investigator also noted that one smoke alarm in this apartment unit was missing and another was not operational. PF&R would like to remind Portlanders that working smoke alarms save lives and to never leave candles unattended.
PF&R Responds To Second Alarm Apartment Fire Caused By Unattended Candle **Update W/Additional Photos** (Photo)
- 10/17/25
At just past midnight this morning, Portland Fire & Rescue crews were dispatched to an apartment fire in a four-story apartment building in the Bridlemile neighborhood on Beaverton Hillsdale Highway. Upon their arrival, crews began search and rescue as well as fire suppression operations. A second alarm was called by Incident Command at 12:15 am to have additional resources available to assist with any potential rescue and evacuation needs and to have enough firefighters on scene in case this fire extended into the structure.
Crews found a room and contents fire in an extremely cluttered 4th floor apartment unit that was partially suppressed by the building’s sprinkler system. Crews stretched a hose line to this unit and quickly extinguished the remainder of the fire. Crews found that this fire did not extend into the structure beyond this single apartment unit. Building occupants either self-evacuated or sheltered in place. There were no injuries related to this fire, however one occupant was evaluated by EMS for a possible panic attack. Several apartment residents were displaced from 3rd floor apartments due to water damage and the Red Cross is assisting these occupants.
40 minutes after dispatch, responding second alarm companies were turned around and sent back to their stations and on scene crews began to address water issues in the building due to the sprinkler activation and to ventilate smoke from the structure.
An investigator from PF&R’s Fire Investigations Unit determined that this fire was caused by an unattended candle. The investigator also noted that one smoke alarm in this apartment unit was missing and another was not operational. PF&R would like to remind Portlanders that working smoke alarms save lives and to never leave candles unattended.