Portland Fire Responds To SE PDX House Fire With A Flashover Incident (Photo) -04/09/25
At 1046 this morning, Portland Fire & Rescue responded to a possible residential fire in the Foster Powell Neighborhood of Southeast Portland. There were reports from the dispatch center of a possible house fire on SE 65th with “lots of gray smoke” coming from a home midblock.
The first arriving apparatus of four members, Truck 25, had redirected themselves from a low-acuity medical call to respond to this fire and arrived in front of the other five responding apparatus on this incident. The officer reported heavy gray smoke was present and pushing out of the front of the home. With a few vehicles out front, crews were concerned with a need for imminent rescue and the truck crew made entry into the home to initiate a search as the first arriving engine, Engine 25, arrived to assume command. This allowed the truck officer to join their crew to have a full complement of members to search the small yet heavily cluttered home.
The engine company began to stretch hose lines to the home with a need to get water onto the fire present. Additionally, members were running hose from the engine to the fire hydrant to establish a water supply to allow for a continuous availability of water on this incident. As hose lines were being put in place at the entry, the front room of the home experienced a flash over, where the smoke and aerosolized fuels simultaneously reach their ignition temperatures leading to a rapid spread across an enclosed area. In this case, members of the search crew were in the area and affected by the explosive action. Although the crew had properly donned their protective clothing that covers members from head to toe, one of the members received a minor burn to an ear through the protective hood worn while working in areas of Imminent Danger to Life and Health (ILDH).
With the truck crew affected safely out of the structure, other firefighters continued move hose lines on the interior to apply water on the fire which was now present on both living floors of the home. Additionally, hose lines were added in play from the exterior of the home to apply water through open windows. With the fire reported to be knocked down on the second level of the home from crews on the interior, the command officer reported heavy fire now on the front porch. Crews drew hose lines to the porch and began to extinguish this body of flames now present.
While crews worked to cool and extinguish on the interior, a second truck crew assigned to this incident focused their efforts on cutting holes in the roof to release the hot gasses and smoke trapped in the home. Upon the arrival of members in the “on-the-job” training phase of their careers from our training academy, they quickly joined the members on the roof to join in cutting more holes to increase the number of holes on the roof to allow a better working environment for those on the interior. This addition of the training station placed 32 members on scene working along with additional command staff present for the safety of those working to extinguish the flames.
Shortly after the 10-minute timer was broadcasted to the crews from BOEC the fire was reduced to safe levels eliminating the concern of the flames consuming the home and spreading to neighboring structures. With a 10’ distance between homes, it is critical the flames are reduced to eliminate the threat of the fire spreading to neighboring homes and keeping the overall damages as small as possible.
Portland Fire would like to thank the assistance provided by BOEC in managing the communication on this incident. Additional thanks to PGE for responding to remove the electricity actively coursing through the home by disabling the drop line on the exterior while crews were still working at extinguishing the flames. The PF&R Fire Investigations Unit is performing a forensic evaluation of the home in hopes of determining a cause of the blaze.
Portland Fire Logistics, Safety, and Clothing Officers are examining the protective clothing of members who experienced the flashover to evaluate if these items of protective clothing can be considered safe for use in the future or will need to be replaced. The firefighter who experienced burns to the ear is currently receiving the appropriate level of care given the extent of this minor injury.
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