PF&R responds to second alarm housefire in SW PDX (Photo)

October 24, 2023 06:55

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Portland Fire responds to second alarm house fire in SW PDX in the early AM hours.

Portland Fire along with our neighbors to the south, Lake Oswego Fire and Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue responded to a second alarm house fire this morning just before 4 AM. The fire significantly damaged a single-family residence and extended to a neighboring garage causing light damage. No injuries reported.

At 3:41 AM, PF&R along with crews from LOFD and TVFR responded to a possible structure fire in the Ashcreek Neighborhood of SW Portland. The first arriving engine reported heavy fire from the garage of a single-story home with a daylight basement near the corner of SW 62nd and SW Wilbard with flames impinging upon and extending to the detached garage of the neighboring home upslope. With the arriving officer requesting a replacement engine for an engine dispatched on the first assignment unable to respond the crew began to apply water on the fire using the deck gun on the top of the engine. This is an effective tactic to eliminate lots of flames with the heavy stream of water but will also drain the tank quickly which dictates establishing a quick water supply. Following the request for an additional engine, the command officer requested a second alarm assignment with the potential for the exposure home to also become a significant fire with the cedar shake siding and the home located mere feet from the heavy fire blowing out of the garage of the primary fire structure.

The first arriving chief takes command and splits the first arriving emergency rigs between the primary home and the exposure home sending a truck and an engine along with a chief to the upslope exposure and the remaining truck and three engines on the primary fire home. A water supply for the primary fire structure established from a close fire hydrant and command directed a transition from the deck gun to an offensive internal fire attack with hand lines stretched into the interior of the primary home by the engine crews on scene. The truck crew assigned to the primary fire structure was directed to perform a search of the residence while the Heavy Rescue that added themselves to the fire was directed to the roof to provide ventilation for the crews operating on the interior. 

The upslope exposure home has a separate water supply established by a Lake Oswego Fire engine pumping to a PF&R emergency response rig. This additional water supply is critical if both structures are heavily involved in fire and flames. With only very little fire impingement on a detached garage of the upslope home, a quick extinguishment occurred. An important aspect of having many available fire hydrants throughout the city. This fire hydrant redundancy is essential in the event of a failed fire hydrant or, as in this case, the need for multiple fire hydrants on the same incident. 

With multiple handlines being put into service on the interior a significant change the fire activity was noted with much of the fire extinguished. Primary and secondary search of the structure report no one present on the inside. With no fire present in the daylight basement portion of the home all fire suppression efforts were focused on the main floor and the main body of fire was extinguished without the need for many of the second alarm assignment and these rigs were released back into service quickly upon arrival to the scene. The fire was completely extinguished in less than 30 minutes and all the first assignment companies remaining on scene to ensure extinguishment and pick up hose and tools used in the firefighting activities.

Portland Fire & Rescue Fire Investigations Unit is on scene working toward determining cause. It is unknown how many individuals will be displaced from the primary fire structure. PF&R would like to thank our neighboring jurisdictions of Lake Oswego Fire and Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue in their help in this emergency scene. We also want to acknowledge the assistance of the emergency dispatch center and the power company who also played essential roles in the incident.

It should be noted that PF&R and Lake Oswego regularly train on this aspect of different departments responding to the same incident and working out any issues regarding the differences in hose diameter and appliance type to ensure a quick and successful water supply is established when needed. The most recent exercise practicing this among these two agencies was less than 3 weeks ago. These planned interactions between departments are essential in quick and successful actions on the fireground.

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