This morning at 10:37 am firefighters were called to the intersection of SE 97th and Holgate. An off duty Portland Firefighter noticed black smoke coming from a house on the Southeast corner of the intersection and called 911. While on the phone the firefighter approached the house looking for occupants. Although the house was reportedly vacant people were seen inside. Two adults (a male and a female) were helped from the house through a window by the firefighter and bystanders. They walked away, but were later located by Portland Police and transported to the hospital for evaluation.

Firefighters from Station 11 (Lents) soon arrived and began fighting the fire. Meanwhile, firefighters from Truck 7 began searching the house for other occupants. No one else was found in the structure. The fire was quickly extinguished and firefighters began looking for hidden hot spots.

A fire investigator was called to determine the cause of the fire. This fire caused an estimated $45,000 dollars in damage. The cause of this fire is still under investigation. This press release will be updated when this information is available.