The Historic Belmont Firehouse, which houses the Safety Learning Center and Fire Museum, is in contention for a $10,000 award from Liberty Mutual Insurance Company. The Safety Learning Center and Fire Museum shares the rich history and heritage of the fire service in Portland, Oregon and promotes fire and life safety education for every guest.  Exhibits and stories help visitors to recognize ways in which they are vulnerable to injury and fire. 

To help us earn the $10,000, we need supporters like you to take a brief and easy fire safety quiz on the internet. Once completed, you will have the option to vote for the fire department in your area (Portland Fire & Rescue). If Portland Fire & Rescue is voted either first or second overall, $10,000 in funds will be donated to the Jeff Morris Foundation on behalf of the Safety Learning Center at the Historic Belmont Firehouse.

To participate, go to www.BeFireSmart.com/KylieTacheny and click on the "Get Started" button. You'll take a 10 question fire safety quiz and be asked for your name and email. After the quiz, you will receive an email that you must respond to as verification of your quiz. You are then able to vote for Portland Fire & Rescue and help us win $10,000. 

Please help support the Historic Belmont Firehouse during these difficult funding times. Voting ends on December 21, 2009. You are only allowed one vote per e-mail address.  Thank you for your help!

Learn More About the Jeff Morris Fire & Life Safety Foundation

The Jeff Morris Fire & Life Safety Foundation is a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization assembled to serve the safety needs of citizens in Oregon.  Founded in 1982 as "The Friends of Jeff Morris," it has evolved to the organization it is today. Jeff Morris was a well loved and charismatic member of Portland Fire & Rescue. As the public information officer and educator, he was well known around the city and was considered the city's greatest ambassador.  When he died of cancer in 1974, his friends decided his should be more than a memory. While it took eight years to develop, the Friends of Jeff Morris finally formed in 1982. 

One of the first projects of the "Friends" was to purchase a safety education van dedicated to education programs delivered by Portland Fire & Rescue. While the original vehicle has been replaced several times, the "Jeff Van" can still be seen cruising the streets of Portland, promoting safety education everywhere it goes.

The next big project of the "Friends" was to develop a fire museum. This goal was realized in 1985 with the addition of the museum on the north end of the central fire station in Old Town. Lack of staffing left the facility as a viewing museum only. Today, however, the fire museum is alive and well at the Historic Belmont Firehouse in the Belmont District. Not only are the artifacts and exhibits more accessible, they are surrounded by many great stories and images of the entire history of the organization.

Jeff's passions were the education of Portland's citizens and the preservation of the history of Portland Fire & Rescue. Today, the Foundation is working to continue Jeff's legacy.  To learn more about the Foundation, click here.

December 18, 2009

Winter Holiday Fire Safety 

There is no place like home for the holidays.  A few simple steps will keep your home safe for your family and guests for this holiday season.

Tree Safety

• Never use candles as decorations.
• Keep tree away from heat.
• Never place a tree in front of an exit door or in a pathway leading to an exit.
• Water a cut tree daily.
• Use a “non-tip” style tree stand.
• Use only fire retardant decorations.
• Never leave a lit tree unattended.
• Dispose of your tree properly, soon after the holiday before needles dry out.
• Artificial trees should have a fire retardant label.

Keep the Season Bright...Watch Those Lights!

• Unplug all lighting before retiring for the evening or leaving the house.
• Blow out candles before leaving the room.
• Don't leave candles burning unattended.
• Purchase lights and electric decorations which are listed by an approved testing agency.
• Check all lighting for frayed wires, broken plugs, sockets, etc.
• Never overload outlets. Use no more than three strands of lights on a single extension cord.
• Never use candles on trees, near live or other flammable decorations.
• Never hang lights on a metallic tree.
• Always use appropriate weatherproof lights outdoors.

It’s not about saving lives; it’s about saving your life.

December 21, 2009 

Each year, Portland Fire & Rescue asks local businesses and residents of Portland to collect new, unwrapped toys to be distributed to children in the community through the Toy N Joy Makers Program.

But this year, a whole different force of nature is helping to invigorate the giving spirit in local businesses. Portland Realtor Huy Nguyen has signed on as a volunteer to create and manage a blog that offers free publicity to businesses when they agree to host a Toy Box. Huy’s goal is to help raise as many toys and donations possible for Portland’s kids this holiday season. 

Please visit http://portlandtoydrive.com to locate a toy drop-off site or to make a direct PayPal cash donation. 

Follow Huy’s progress on his Portland Toy Drive blog, Twitter, and Facebook accounts! 

Huy – Toy N Joy Makers and Portland Fire & Rescue

appreciates your giving spirit and dedication to this worthy cause!

December 22, 2009

At approximately 3:00 am this morning, Portland Fire & Rescue firefighters were dispatched to a report of fire at a mobile home park on N. Hayden Island Drive. Upon arrival, Portland firefighters found a "well involved" fifth wheel travel trailer. Firefighters received confirmation from occupants that everyone was safely out of the trailer.  Due to the heavy fire involvement, firefighters fought this fire defensively from the exterior.

While extinguishing the fire, one firefighter was injured in a fall and subsequently transported to Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU) for evaluation. The firefighter is in stable condition and will hopefully be evaluated, treated, and released today.

The fire was extinguished without further incident and the trailers occupants are being assisted by firefighters until they have to go to work early this morning.

December 23, 2009

This holiday, employees from the downtown office of Merrill Lynch, Inc. and their families gathered to build 50 bicycles for Portland Fire & Rescue’s Toy N Joy Makers. Toy N Joy Makers was established in 1914 with a mission of assisting low-income families in the Portland area by providing their children with toys for Christmas.

To help them in this undertaking, Portland Fire & Rescue firefighters were on hand to provide safety demonstrations for the youth who were present and to take the completed bikes out for distribution. 

“Working together as a team, and with our families, for such a worthy cause reminds us what the holidays are truly all about,” said Financial Advisor Cate Simons and her daughter Megan.

On behalf of Portland Fire & Rescue, thank you Merrill Lynch for helping to make this Christmas bright for our youth! 

For more information on how you and your organization can be involved in Toy N Joy Makers, visit www.toynjoymakers.org.

December 24, 2009