December 12, 2011

3:10 PM

At 1:25 pm, Portland Fire & Rescue was dispatched to reports of a broken 4" natural gas line hissing in SW Kingston Avenue.  Firefighters from Portland Fire (Northwest/Pearl District) Station 3 arrived on scene within three minutes of receiving the call.

Reports indicate that a Portland Water Bureau crew hit the gas line while working in the street near 157 SW Kingston Avenue. The area of SW Kingston Avenue between SW Tichner Drive and SW Fairview Blvd. was immediately evacuated.  The evacuation is affecting approximately 15 homes.

Portland Fire crews are initiating a plan alongside crews from NW Natural to crimp the broken gas line and shut off a valve to stop the flow of natural gas.  Currently five fire engines and one fire truck are at the scene responding.

A Public Information Officer is on scene.  Staging for media will be at West Burnside Street and SW Tichner Drive.

Portland Fire & Rescue

Hot Artichoke Dip

Ingredients:

• ½ c light mayonnaise
• ½ c fat-free plain yogurt
• ½ c grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tsp dried minced onion
• 1 tsp chopped garlic
• 1 pkg (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed
• 1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed, and coarsely chopped

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Mix together mayonnaise, yogurt, Parmesan cheese, onion, and garlic.
3. Add spinach and artichoke hearts. Mix until blended.
4. Spray pie plate with nonfat cooking spray. Spread mixture evenly in pie plate.
5. Bake for about 25 minutes or until heated through. Serve.

Nutrition Facts:

• Calories  70
• Total Fat 4 g
• Sodium 182 mg
• Total Carbohydrates 4 g
• Fiber 2 g
• Protein 3 g

  Portland Fire & Rescue 

  We Respond: Always Ready, Always There

  December 15, 2011 

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To ensure the most effective service at the time of an emergency, Portland Fire & Rescue firefighters must remain in their designated response area with their fire engines and trucks during their entire shift.

Portland firefighters work 24-hour shifts with no scheduled breaks, and meals are not provided. Firefighters on each shift must purchase their own food and prepare their own meals, so they usually make a daily trip to the grocery store within their fire management areas to buy whatever they need to prepare their meals for the entire shift.

Portland Fire crews do not have to be sitting in the fire station to be dispatched to a call. Since all fire companies maintain constant radio contact and the entire crew must always be together with their fire apparatus, they are always ready to respond to any emergency, regardless of their current location.

Very often, Portland firefighters spend long periods of their day running calls, without returning to the station or stopping to eat, and they frequently have to return to the grocery store several times to finish purchasing food that they might not get a chance to cook during the shift.

So if you see your local firefighters at a grocery store near you, stop and say hi!  And remember, they're still on-duty and ready to respond to emergencies!

   Portland Fire & Rescue 

   We Respond: Always Ready, Always There

   December 15, 2011 

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Fireboat David Campbell provides a water display to celebrate the beginning of the Sellwood Bridge Replacement Project

This morning at the Sellwood Riverfront Park, members of the public and Portland Mayor Sams Adams, County Chair Jeff Kogen, County Commissioner Deborah Kafoury, and the U.S. Department of Transportation Undersecretary Polly Trottenberg gathered to celebrate the beginning steps of the Sellwood Bridge project.

This month, work will begin on the $268 million project to replace the 86-year-old bridge. The ground breaking event this morning officially announced a $17.7 million federal TIGER grant for the project from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The Sellwood Bridge was the only project in Oregon to receive a TIGER grant and received the 7th largest grant out of 46 awards.

Portland Fire & Rescue’s Station 6 (NW Industrial) brought out the Fireboat David Campbell to cap off the celebration with a water display.

For additional information on the project, visit http://www.sellwoodbridge.org.

Did You Know?

The Fireboat David Campbell was built in 1927 and is 87'6" long.  It was repowered in the 1970's, and currently has diesel propulsion engines and diesel dedicated pumping engines. The fireboat’s four fire pumps have a total output of 15,000 gallons per minute, the pumping capacity of 10 fire engines, and its main turret alone can flow approximately 7,500 gallons per minute.

   Portland Fire & Rescue 

   We Respond: Always Ready, Always There

   December 16, 2011 

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