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At 7:22 a.m. firefighters were dispatched to a report of a residential fire in the 6400 block of Fern St. in Portland.  While responding, a large column of black smoke was visible and the response was upgraded to full first alarm to get more resources on scene.  Upon arrival, crews were met with a single family home that had heavy fire involvement and a large amount of thick black smoke.  Firefighters quickly when to work to exinguish the fire, ventilate the structure and search the building to ensure everyone was out. The search was completed and determined that everyone had made it out safely. To search this house, firefighters used a technique known as Vent Enter Search, where they enter the rooms that are not directly impacted by the fire and have the highest chance of survivabiliity. Often and in this case, the firefighters are entering the building without the protection of a hose line.  This is a high risk technique that is used to quickly search rooms where it is most likely that an occupant would be located.

Two occupants of the home and a neighbor were transported to area hospitals for medical evaluation as a result of being exposed to smoke.  Fire Investigators are on scene and will be working to determine what caused the fire and where it started. 

Clackamas Fire would like to remind our community that having a working smoke alarm provides early notification to a fire and allows people a greater chance to get out of the building unharmed.

Clackamas Fire District #1 will hold its seventh Chain of Survival Celebration and challenge coin presentation on Monday, March 4, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. at the Providence Willamette Falls Community Center, 519 15th St., Oregon City, OR 97045.

The celebration will honor those in the chain of survival who participated in saving the life of a cardiac arrest victim who were resuscitated and survived neurologically intact. Clackamas Fire will honor nine cardiac arrest “saves” or survivors that included numerous individuals involved in the treatment of the survivors.

The chain of survival participants include bystanders who performed CPR prior to emergency crew arrival, Clackamas Fire, Clackamas County 911 dispatchers who encouraged and coached bystander CPR, and American Medical Response.

The cardiac arrest saves were made possible because someone recognized there was a medical emergency, they took immediate action, called 911, someone started Hands-Only CPR, and emergency dispatchers quickly dispatched first responders, and as a result – the chain was unbroken.

Each year, more than 350,000 cardiac arrests occur outside a hospital setting in the United States. According to the American Heart Association, the national survival rate from these incidents is less than 10%. Clackamas Fire’s save rate (discharged neurologically intact) for 2017 was 32% and 35% for the months of January to July of 2018. Since Clackamas Fire’s first ceremony in 2015, they’ve recognized 48 survivors; and given out 279 coins to their firefighter crews, 85 to American Medical Response, 31 to Clackamas County 911 dispatchers, 18 to law enforcement officers and 45 to citizen bystanders.

CPR is crucial as this keeps the blood flow active – even partially – extending the opportunity for a successful resuscitation once trained medical staff arrive. When community members are willing and able to provide CPR and Automated External Defibrillators are readily available, chances of a patient surviving a cardiac arrest event increases significantly.

Chief Fred Charlton said, “All too often our first responders and citizen heroes who help save a life aren’t able to reunite with the victim. The Chain of Survival Celebration brings rescuers and survivors together and demonstrates how important calling 911, learning Hands-Only CPR, accessing an Automated External Defibrillator, and providing advanced care is to ensure life goes on.”

Thanks to all those involved in the chain of survival, as Clackamas Fire is able to reunite survivors and rescuers, giving them the opportunity to formally meet one another and to celebrate life.

The media are invited to attend, but due to limited space is not open to the general public.

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