April 10, 2012

8:09 AM

Portland firefighters responded to reports of a fire at 9220 N. Adriatic Avenue on April 9th at 11:01 pm. Firefighters from Portland Fire Station 26 (Portsmouth/University Park) arrived at the scene within three minutes of being dispatched.

A Portland 48-year-old female was asleep at the time of the fire and recalls being woken by the sound of her smoke alarm going off. She evacuated the home, but later returned to retrieve her purse. Firefighters urge citizens never to return to a burning structure --- instead evacuate immediately and stay a safe distance away from the scene.

Firefighters attacked the fire inside the home, which was primarily contained to the downstairs bathroom and laundry room. The fire started burning through the fiberglass bathtub and foam rubber in the bathroom, which filled the home with heavy black smoke and severely limited visibility for firefighters searching the home. Because the home, built in 2007, was constructed with newer building materials, the synthetic materials burned hotter, faster, and released more toxic smoke than older construction homes.

The Red Cross was called to help the home owner find alternate housing due to the extensive smoke damage in the home. Two Portland Fire investigators responded to the scene. Damage to the home is estimated at $75,000.

April 10, 2012 -- Portland Fire & Rescue’s Assistant Fire Marshal Doug Jones didn’t spend his spring break sleeping in or taking a family trip to Disneyland.

Instead, for the third year in a row, Jones traveled with a church-based group down to Mexico to build homes for disadvantaged families.  The team of 20 adults and 54 teenagers on spring break, began their trek here in Oregon, driving in a caravan with trucks and trailers filled with building materials, tools, supplies, tents and other living essentials across the Mexican border to the north-central state of San Luis, Sonoro.

Jones is a member of “Mission-4-Mexico,” a faith-based youth centered outreach group with the goal of building homes and working on other projects in the under-served communities within Mexico.

When Jones and the group arrived in San Luis, they set up tent camp and then visited the two sites where they would be constructing homes. The team was then able to spend time with the families they were building for.  An advance team poured 16’ x 20’ concrete slabs at the home sites prior to their arrival.

Over the course of the next three days, the group framed and insulated walls and roofs, installed windows, ran wires for future electricity, hung, muded and tapped sheetrock and then painted inside and out.  No electricity or running water was available at the sites so generators were utilized to power skill saws. 

Each new home also got a new banos (outhouse) built over a freshly dug hole in the sand.  When the homes were completed, the families gathered with the work trip participants and a local pastor for the house blessing.

According to Jones, the most humbling part of the hard work and dedication is seeing the reaction of the family when the home is finished and presented to them. 

“A memory you will never forget is just having finished a new home for a family and getting to hand over the keys,” he said. “You just can't forget the moment of giving a home to someone who before had lived in a pallet and plywood lean-to with a dirt floor.”

Jones also commented on the youth that make this trip, “It’s amazing to watch the youth on this trip seemingly mature before your eyes as they see and experience living conditions most have only heard about.  This trip makes a lasting impression on them”.

April 10, 2012

3:20 PM

At 11:15 am, Portland Fire & Rescue responded to reports of a smoldering fire in a grain silo at Columbia Grain located at 15660 North Lombard. All employees of Columbia Grain were safely evacuated at the time of the fire; an employee reported smelling smoke in one of the 30 silos located at the site. Each grain silo stands approximately 125 feet high.

Upon arrival, Portland Fire crews determined that the silo was only one-quarter full at the time of the fire. Eight firefighters brought hose lines up to the top of the silo and sprayed water into the silo to put out the fire in the smoldering grain.

"Firefighters are always concerned about grain elevator fires because grain dust can be explosive in the right conditions," said Portland Fire Battalion Chief Tom Williams. "We shut down all power to the facility and then checked each silo for hot spots."

Columbia Grain exports soft and hard wheat to many ports around the world; trains full of grain come into the facility frequently from as far away as North Dakota. At the time of the fire, the Nord Ocean cargo ship out of Panama was docked at the grain facility awaiting a load of grain. The ship was not impacted by the fire other than the shut down of the facility. Portland Fire crews will remain on scene for the next couple of hours to monitor for any signs of smoke.

Portland Fire & Rescue investigators have not released the cause of the fire and damage estimates are not available at this time. This the second grain terminal fire in four days. Another grain terminal fire was reported at the Port of Longview on April 7th. A total of 34 Firefighters responded to the scene.

Duane Bray is sworn in as a Division Chief

April 12, 2012 -- During a formal swearing-in ceremony at Portland’s City Hall this morning, Portland Fire & Rescue (PF&R) appointed Duane Bray to the position of Emergency Operations Division Chief. 

Fire Marshal Erin Janssens presents Chief Bray with a Division Chief Badge

The ceremony was witnessed by Fire Chief John Klum, Fire Marshal Erin Janssens, Division Chief Mark Schmidt, Deputy Chief John Harding, and other Portland Fire personnel.

On-duty Station 1 personnel witnessed the swearing in and then quickly exited to respond to an emergency incident

Bray will oversee PF&R’s Operations Division with just over 600 employees and a budget of $71 million.  As the Division Chief of Operations, Bray will manage Emergency Response, Emergency Medical Services, Battalion Headquarters, Emergency Management Liaisons, Bureau of Emergency Operations (BOEC) Liaisons, and the Hazardous Materials Program.  Emergency response is PF&R's most critical service to the community and is the primary means by which PF&R saves lives and property for the citizens of Portland.   

Fire Chief John Klum congratulates Chief Bray

Bray was hired as a firefighter in 1982, promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in 1991, and 12 years later became a Captain.  In 2005, he was promoted to the rank of Battalion Chief in Emergency Operations and also served as PF&R’s Safety Control Officer.  In 2011, Bray was appointed Deputy Chief of Emergency Operations where he supervised three battalions and over 40 emergency response companies.

Congratulations to Portland Fire & Rescue’s newest Division Chief Duane Bray on his appointment!

April 12, 2012 -- Lieutenant Rick and Firefighters Ryan F., Ryan W., and Steve from Portland Fire Station 18 (Multnomah Village) gave Girl Scout Troop #41854 a taste of first aid learning on April 2, 2012.

Firefighters discussed the importance of learning first aid, staying safe and aware in order to avoid accidents, helping other in a first aid emergency, and how to act and who to call in an emergency.

Firefighters see first hand each day when people have accidents are suddenly take ill.  By learning first aid, firefighters hope to empower the young Girl Scouts to look after themselves and each other.

Get Trained

The Oregon Red Cross Trail Chapter's youth safety training courses teach children health promotion, injury prevention, basic first aid and safety precautions through open discussion, video segments, age-appropriate safety scenarios, fun activities and colorfully illustrated handbooks. Children who take these courses develop the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to respond in emergency situations. Classes are held at various locations throughout NW Oregon communities.

Private classes for groups of 10 to 20 students can be arranged with at least four weeks notice. For details on private classes and for schedule or general information about any of these courses, visit http://www.oregonredcross.org.