Portland Fire & Rescue responded to a house fire at 5304 NE 54th Avenue at 4:52 this morning. When Engine 12 (Sandy Blvd) arrived at 4:56 am, they saw fire and smoke coming from the front and side of an attached garage of a single story residence. The firefighters quickly determined that all 6 occupants had safely exited the house and began attacking the fire. As more firefighters arrived, they connected the first arriving fire engine to a fire hydrant with hose lines, pulled additional hose lines into the front of the house to stop the spread of fire that had gotten into the kitchen, and began ventilating the hot smoke and flammable gasses out of the house. The occupants were also evaluated medically, but no one was transported to a hospital. The fire was under control at 5:22 am.  "Due to the strategically located fire stations, we were able to quickly get to this home and ensure the occupants had gotten out and limit the amount of damage because of the rapid fire spread,"
said Chief Klum.

The cause of the fire is linked to discarded smoking material. Cigarettes remain the number 1 cause of fires and fire fatalities. 45% of fire fatalities are caused by cigarette related incidents... the second most cause is heating equipment malfunction at 8%. Additionally, fires caused by cigarette smoking produce about 6,000 injuries a year.

Portland Fire & Rescue reminds residents to dispose of burning materials, including cigarettes, in a safe manner, using a bucket of water or a metal container stored away from combustibles.

The value of the house and contents was $176,000 with a damage estimate of $77,500.
The occupants have been displaced, but did not need any further assistance at this time.

23 Firefighters responded to the house fire:

4 Fire Engines
1 Fire Truck
1 Chief - Incident Command
1 Chief - Safety Officer
1 Arson Investigator

Contact info, for media use only:
Lt. Rich Tyler, PIO Media Pager (503)940-6003