At 10:34pm Portland Fire & Rescue responded to a house fire at 1422 SE 86th Ave. Engine 19 (Mt. Tabor) arrived at 10:39pm and found smoke coming from all visible windows of the 1 Â1/2 story house. Fire crews began to attack the blaze from inside the structure when an event called flashover occurred. A flashover is when all of the combustible materials in an involved area reach their ignition temperature and catch fire simultaneously. This forced fire crews to exit the structure and extinguish much of the fire from the exterior. Crews were then able to re-enter the house and put the remainder of the fire out. A truck crew was placed on the roof to cut holes in order to release smoke and fire gasses from inside the building.

An additional truck and engine company were called to the scene because of the size of the fire and the number of stories involved. Fire crews were able to rescue a small dog that was hiding in a bathroom and it appeared unharmed.

The fire was brought under control at 11:25pm and crews remain on scene mopping up. There were no injuries reported at this fire. The cause of the fire and damage estimates are currently under investigation and updates will be given as soon as they become available.

At 11:48pm Portland Fire & Rescue responded to a second house fire at 5282 N Yale St. Engine 26 (Portsmouth/University Park) arrived three minutes later (11:51pm) and found fire on a back porch that had extended inside the house. Engine 26 extinguished the fire while additional fire crews conducted a search for possible victims and checked for fire extension inside ceilings and walls. A truck crew was placed on the roof to cut holes in order to release smoke and fire gasses from inside the building.

The fire was brought under control at 12:20am and crews remain on scene mopping up. There were no injuries reported at this fire. The cause of the fire and damage estimates are currently under investigation and updates will be given as soon as they become available.

Photos are from the 1422 SE 86th Ave. house fire and are courtesy of PF&R Photographer Dick Harris.

Contact info, for media use only:
Public Information Officer AJ Schaffer, Media Pager (503) 940-6003.