The Office of the City Auditor released the results of the 2009 City of Portland Resident Survey.  The annual survey, mailed to 9,000 randomly selected Portland residents, provides a snapshot of how well the City of Portland is doing on a wide range of services. 

For the third year in a row, resident opinions of Portland Fire & Rescue remained high with 91% of those surveyed ranking PF&R’s services as good or very good – the highest rating of any City bureau.  The 755 members of Portland Fire & Rescue consider it a privilege to protect life and property in the City of Portland and appreciate receiving this feedback from customers on our services. 

Click here to access a direct link to the report.

November 17, 2009

Photos courtesy of Dick Harris, Portland Fire & Rescue

This morning at about 4:30 am, Portland Fire & Rescue firefighters responded to the report of smoke coming from a building on SE Foster Road. Engine and Truck 25 arrived two minutes later and reported smoke coming from the back side of the building. The fire had worked its way into the concealed spaces in the walls and between the ceiling and roof, making it difficult for firefighters to put it out. After about 40 minutes of cutting holes in the roof and pulling sheetrock on the inside of the building, firefighters were able to extinguish all the hot spots.

Firefighters have confirmed that no one was in the building and no injuries were reported.

QUICK INFORMATION

Crews dispatched:  4:28 am

Crews on scene:  4:30 am

Fire controlled:  5:15 am

Recall:  5:28 am

Firefighters were called to fight the one alarm fire: 35

Engine companies: 5

Truck companies: 3

Heavy Squad: 1

Chief Officers: 3

CLOSURERS

SE Foster Road was closed between 50th and 52nd for 2 ½ hours and was reopened at 7:00 am just in time for most of the morning commuters.

CAUSE OF FIRE

Fire investigators from Portland Fire & Rescue are on scene and are working to determine cause of the fire.

November 18, 2009

On November 10, 2009, Portland Fire & Rescue (PF&R) held its first Steering Committee meeting for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2010-15 Strategic Planning Process.  Once complete, the Strategic Plan will provide PF&R with a roadmap that will guide the organization’s success over the next five years. 

PF&R’s Strategic Plan is important to the bureau’s leadership, employees, and the public because it identifies long-term goals and the best approach to achieving them. The Steering Committee, comprised of bureau staff, stakeholders, and citizens, will be overseeing the strategic planning process during the next eight months as the plan is developed. Along the way, PF&R will be soliciting input from the public, employees, stakeholders, and various agencies that use PF&R's services to ensure that long-term goals are developed with consideration for the community’s needs and priorities.

Information on the FY 2010-15 Strategic Planning process will be made available through a variety of methods. Stay tuned to the PF&R website, Fire Blog, and PDXFire Twitter page for future updates and information on the FY 2010-15 Strategic Plan.

To review PF&R's current FY 2005-10 Strategic Plan, click here.

November 17, 2009

Today marks the one-month anniversary of the Fire Blog!

Since its launch on October 19, 2009, the Fire Blog has received over 4,500 hits. Our most popular blog so far? The dive team video.  Click here to view the dive team video and blog. Thank you to all of our readers for making the Fire Blog’s first month a success!!

If there are topics you want to see more of, let us know using the comment feature below!

November 19, 2009

U.S. News and World Report just reviewed and scored hundreds of careers based on five criteria:

1. Job outlook, which took into consideration the above three factors
2. Average job satisfaction
3. Difficulty of the required training
4. Prestige
5. Pay

The field was narrowed to 30 best careers. This included engineers, audiologists, occupational therapists, registered nurses, and veterinarians to name a few. 

Also named as one of the best careers in 2009?  

Firefighting!!!

Using the criteria, a firefighting career was awarded “A” grades in job satisfaction and training difficulty, and “B” grades in prestige and job market outlook. To read more of the U.S. News and World report online, click here. 

Are you interested in becoming a Portland firefighter? Click here to visit our official website or contact the Recruiter at (503) 823-3811. 

November 20, 2009