Portland, OR. — An adult woman was critically injured Tuesday morning after a residential fire broke out in the Piedmont neighborhood of Northeast Portland, according to Portland Fire & Rescue.
Fire crews were dispatched at 6:56 a.m. to reports of a possible structure fire with flames visible in the front room of a 1½-story home with a basement. Engine 14 arrived to find light smoke drifting from beneath the home’s front porch overhang and initiated an interior investigation.
When firefighters forced the front door, the introduction of fresh oxygen caused a rapid flare-up of the smoldering fire in the front room. Crews established a water supply from a nearby hydrant and quickly advanced hose lines inside the 2,061-square-foot residence, extinguishing the visible flames.
Firefighters opened the ceiling in the front room to check for extension into the second floor, but clean lath boards showed the fire had not spread upward. Additional checks of the basement and surrounding areas confirmed the fire was contained to the front room.
During a search of the home, truck crews located an adult female in an upstairs bedroom. She was brought outside, where Portland Fire & Rescue and AMR medics provided emergency medical care before transporting her to a hospital in critical condition. Her current status was not known at the time of the report.
Fire investigators believe the blaze was caused by an auxiliary space heater connected to an extension cord, a setup officials warn is dangerous. Fire officials emphasized that space heaters and other large appliances should always be plugged directly into a grounded wall outlet, not into extension cords or power strips.
No working smoke alarms were heard when crews arrived, another factor that may have contributed to the severity of the incident. Fire officials stressed that functioning smoke detectors significantly improve survivability in house fires.
The home was also described as heavily cluttered, which made it difficult for firefighters to navigate and deploy hoses, and would have complicated escape for occupants in smoke-filled conditions.
Portland Fire & Rescue thanked the Bureau of Emergency Communications (BOEC) dispatch center for its support and TIPS Northwest volunteers who assisted neighbors affected by the incident.
About the Author
