Portland Fire & Rescue Responds To Second?Alarm Residential Fire In Mill Park (Photo) - 10/16/26

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Portland Fire & Rescue Responds to Second‑Alarm Residential Fire in Mill Park

Portland Fire & Rescue (PF&R) responded early this morning to a fast‑moving residential fire in the Mill Park neighborhood after a backyard shed fire, driven by steady winds, rapidly extended to a home and threatened multiple structures. The incident escalated to a second alarm as embers ignited spot fires downwind, ultimately displacing three residents and sending one neighboring occupant to the hospital for smoke‑related respiratory concerns. The fire was brought under control within 20 minutes, and the cause remains under investigation.

In the early minutes of the response at approximately 4:28 a.m., crews from east‑side PF&R stations and mutual‑aid partners from Gresham Fire arrived to find a shed fully involved with flames impinging on the adjacent home and being pushed by wind toward a second residence. Recognizing the rapid fire growth and exposure risks, the first‑arriving officer upgraded the assignment to a first‑alarm residential fire, adding additional apparatus and command staff. As the wind intensified, embers caused multiple spot fires and a large body of fire advanced toward a neighboring home, prompting the incident commander to request a second alarm. This brought more than two dozen additional firefighters to the scene.

Engine 7 reported significant fire conditions on arrival near SE 141st Avenue and Harrison Street, finding flames extending from the shed into an overhead awning and into the elevated living space of the primary home. Crews quickly established a water supply, deployed hose lines for exterior fire attacks, and made interior entry to stop the fire's progression. Downwind, firefighters worked to prevent fire extension into the neighboring home while simultaneously addressing spot fires ignited by airborne embers. During the fire, overhead power lines were damaged and collapsed; PGE was requested promptly to deenergize the lines, while a dedicated safety team ensured firefighter protection in the affected area.

Within approximately 20 minutes, the main body of fire was knocked down, though wind‑fed hotspots required persistent attention throughout the scene. Three occupants of the primary home were displaced, and one neighboring resident experienced significant smoke exposure requiring hospital evaluation.

Portland Fire & Rescue extends its gratitude to the dispatchers at BOEC, whose coordination supported the complex, multi‑location response; to PGE personnel for their rapid de‑energization of compromised power lines; and to Gresham Fire for their invaluable mutual‑aid assistance on both alarm assignments.

PF&R reminds the community that although the recreational burn ban was lifted yesterday, steady winds can quickly turn small outdoor fires into dangerous situations. Anyone choosing to have an outdoor recreational fire should maintain safe distances—at least 15 feet from structures or significant vegetation for portable fireplaces and 25 feet for ground fire rings—keep a charged hose line nearby and never place a fire beneath tree canopies. The safest choice is to wait until winds have fully calmed before enjoying an outdoor fire.

BURN BAN LIFTED IN THE CITY OF PORTLAND - 10/15/26

BURN BAN LIFTED IN THE CITY OF PORTLAND

The burn ban that was issued in early July in the City of Portland has been lifted by the Portland Fire & Rescue Fire Marshal’s Office effective 10/15/26. Although the burn ban is being lifted, Portland Fire & Rescue would like to remind members of the community to only burn dried cordwood in a controlled setting by using a fire ring or elevated fire pit with an active hose line stretched to the location of your fire. Keep all flame lengths less than 24” and to be certain to be a safe distance away (recreation fires 25', and portable fireplaces 15’) from any structure and significant vegetation.

In addition to the safety concerns with recreational fire pits, PF&R would like you to remain vigilant in your outdoor cooking activities as well. Residents are reminded to use extreme caution when using an outdoor cooking set up with open flame. When using charcoal briquettes, please properly dispose of the ashes in a covered metal container away from combustibles, and keep the ashes wet for a few days before properly disposing of them. Maintain at least ten feet (10’) between outdoor cooking locations and anything combustible such as siding, fences, shrubbery, etc.

Ensure all cigarettes/cigars are extinguished prior to disposal.

Those living in rural areas are asked to continue to maintain their defensible space by monitoring growth surrounding homes and structures as there is still a wildfire risk posed in our region, and to maintain adequate access for firefighting equipment in the event there is a response need.

Contact Portland Fire & Rescue 503-823-3700 for additional information.

PF&R Responds To 2nd Alarm Apartment Fire In NE PDX (Photo) - 10/12/26

PF&R responds to 2^nd alarm apartment fire in NE PDX

At 10:44 AM Portland Fire responded to a possible apartment fire in the Cully Neighborhood of NE Portland. The closest responding fire engine noted over the radio there was a visible header or smoke column indicating an active working fire.

Crews arrived to thick dark smoke pushing out of the backside of a 2-story four-plex apartment building and directed an offensive fire attack with crews taking hose lines to the interior. The first arriving truck was assigned search and rescue and threw ladders to the second story windows to gain access to the elevated floor of the complex affected in the incident.

A second chief on scene reported heavy fire visible from the backside of the structure that was impinging on an adjacent apartment building which led to the command chief requesting a second alarm assignment adding another 24 firefighters to the incident placing over 50 members of PF&R assigned to this incident. The second alarm response provides for an adequate workforce on scene should the fire extend to an additional structure.

The fire was quickly extinguished with only a single engine company from the second alarm assigned any work on the incident. There were no reports of any injuries. Ten occupants will be displaced because of the fire with Red Cross assisting in this effort. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

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PF&R Responds To Two Significant Fires In Short Time Interval (Photo) - 10/09/26

PF&R responds to two significant fires in short time interval

Portland Fire & Rescue responded to two significant fires in a 6-hour period in NE Portland. The first fire occurred at sunset and was confined to a single structure in an area of many buildings. The second significant fire response occurred at just past 1 AM on the next day, about 3 hours after the last crew picked up and cleared the first fire.

At just past 7 PM in the Hazelwood Neighborhood of NE Portland PF&R was dispatched to a fire in an apartment complex with heavy fire showing upon arrival. An active powerline bouncing alongside the structure with a vehicle leaking fuel actively on fire were challenges to the crew. Interior searches of the structure indicated all occupants were outside safely. A difficult access to the attic space led to the creative use of an infrequently used nozzle applicator to extinguish the body of fire in the attic spaces. There were no reports of any injuries in this fire. The cause of this fire is under investigation.

The second fire response was just past 1:30 AM with crews responding to a commercial semi-truck and trailer fabrication and repair structure in the Cully Neighborhood. Heavy fire showing from a large multi-story metal clad structure with a lot littered with semi cabs, trailers and other trucks led to a challenging approach for arriving crews.

The initial arriving company began using an offensive fire attack initially with access provided through a failed roll up garage door but quickly changed to a defensive operation pulling all firefighters from the interior of the structure. An additional access to the building was cut into an adjacent roll up door that allowed firefighters to apply water to the body of fire from these two openings. An aerial ladder truck was raining down water from above using the master stream on the tip of the extended ladder.

Water supply was crucial with the closest fire hydrants located blocks away. Multiple fire engines were used in pushing the required amount of water from the hydrants to the engines and trucks with their aerial master streams used to apply copious amounts of water from above to reduce the flames and body of fire. The closest fire hydrant was quite a distance which required multiple engines inline relay pumping to have enough water at the end of the nozzles to successfully extinguish the flames.

A battalion chief and engine company from the requested 2^nd Alarm were redirected to a row of homes located to the west of the building to begin preparing for potential fire extension. Fortunately, the crews working on the fire were able to reduce the flames and extinguish the fire by saving over half the building and preventing any fire spread to the row of homes on the elevated hill just to the west of the fire building.

The PF&R Fire Investigations Unit beginning to perform their work to determine cause. No reported injuries.

PF&R would like to thank PPB and the dispatchers at BOEC for their assistance in each of these incidents. Additional thanks to the utility companies for their assistance as well with both electric and gas companies responding to each fire.

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