gable cut on the top, front of house/crews talking with the investigator

Just after 4:00am Portland Fire & Rescue responded to reports of a house on fire. When crews arrived, they found a house with heavy fire conditions coming from the back side of the structure and through the roof on that same side, and quickly went to work getting hose lines in place to make entry and put water on the fire. The house was located down a long, narrow driveway making access difficult for the incoming resources, so the first arriving engine dropped a section of 3” hose at the street end, allowing the next arriving engine to act as a fire hydrant and supply water to the fire attack crews. Fire had spread to the grass adjacent to the structure, and exterior crews immediately put water on the flames stopping the spread to a neighboring house. Due to the heavy interior fire, flames had burned through a section of the roof and there was active fire in the attic space. Due to the compromised roof, truck crews were unable to cut vertical ventilation holes to clear out the attic space, so instead they placed a gable cut on one end of the structure. A gable cut is essentially a window sized hole just below the roof line around the attic vent, enabling crews to apply water on the fire as well as provide ventilation of the smoke. Crews conducted a thorough primary and secondary search of the house, and no victims were found. The fire was completely knocked down about 20 minutes after fire attack began, and the incident was recalled. All crews remained on scene making sure all hot spots were removed, while the fire investigator diligently works to try and determine the cause. No reported injuries. Portland Fire & Rescue would like to remind everyone of the importance of working smoke detectors.