Strike 1: Live without a working smoke detector. Strike 2: Leave a big pot of cooking oil on the stove – set to high temperature – and leave the room …

Now renting? We think not. The two-alarm fire, caused by a careless cook, gutted this apartment building, chasing 21 people out into the cold, spring night.

Story and photos by David F. Ashton

Just before 1:00 a.m. on May 7, most people in the apartment building on SE 124th Avenue, just north of Division Street, were deep asleep. Little did they know they would soon be leaving their homes – in the dead of night, with only the clothes on their backs – never to return.

However, one “chef” in the building decided the midnight hour was a good time to do some deep-fat frying.

Unattended pot of oil explodes into flames
Authorities would not disclose the name of the early-morning cook. They did say that the occupant of the first-floor unit poured three or four quarts of cooking oil in a cooking pot, put it on an electric stove, turned the left front burner to the “high” setting, and walked away.

Our readers have seen in the past what happens when a “turkey fryer” gets overheated and the grease boils over onto the heat source ‚Äì instant conflagration.

Portland Fire & Rescue’s Lt. Allan Oswalt told us that, within minutes, the fire “flashed over” and the apartment unit was ablaze.

Blaze lit the night
“I’d drifted off to sleep, watching TV,” said neighbor Andy Andersen, “when I started smelling smoke. I heard people screaming, ‘Fire! Get out!’ I looked out my window and saw kids, women and men running out of the building as the fire department pulled up.”

Down the block, Cheryl Smythe told us, “Our dogs started barking because of the commotion outside the apartment building. When we looked outside, the fire lit up the neighborhood, almost like daylight.”

The fire burned so hot, the steel support for this lighting fixture melted as if it was plastic.

Second alarm called
Oswalt told us that a “second alarm” is typically sounded ‚Äì this brings extra firefighters and equipment to the scene ‚Äì for any multi-family dwelling or commercial building fire. “We want to make sure it doesn’t get away from us.”

Within four minutes of getting the call, the quiet of the early-morning hours was disrupted as 61 fire personnel with nine fire engines and four trucks had responded.

Oswalt said there was “heavy fire involvement in the complex of 10 units, 9 of which were occupied at the time.”

21 people left homeless
Authorities said 16 Adults and five children were displaced due to the damage caused from this fire.

“Instead of leaving them standing out in the cold,” neighbor Anderson observed, “it wasn’t long until a TriMet bus pulled up, letting the people from the burning building get out of the weather.”  Red Cross was called in to help in find lodging for the displaced occupants.

Building a “death-trap”‚Ķ?
By 2 a.m., the fire was out; but nine families were homeless; all of their possessions destroyed or damaged by fire or smoke.

A look inside the stairwell of the building that burned due to carelessness in the kitchen.

Authorities firmly stated the building was not a “death-trap”; no code violations have been filed as of publication date. Investigators imply blame the fire on the inattentive late-night cook ‚Äì calling it a fire due to “misuse of material.”

However, fire inspectors did find that air-handling ducts in the building contributed to the spread of the blaze throughout the building. Further, inspectors noted the smoke detector in the unit where the fire started failed or was non-operative.

“We can’t say it too many times,” warned Oswalt, “Smoke detectors save lives. We’re glad no lives were lost in this fire, but look at the tragic situation this fire caused to so many people.”

2006 by David F. Ashton ~ East PDX News

Learn how NOT to get swindled: East Portland auctioneer Robert W. Mathisen is said to have stolen more than $1 million in goods and cash. Even worse, he robbed a community of trust …

Looking at a doll that was part of a truckload of merchandise Portland Police say was stolen ‚Äì then taken to Chicago ‚Äì is NRT Officer Michele Michaels, with its owner, West Coast Antiques’ Ann Smith. David F. Ashton photo

By David F. Ashton

Members of Portland’s antique and collectables community were shocked in late 2004 to find the Southeast Portland building, home of Robert W. Mathisen’s Professional Auction Group, empty.

When Mathisen and his wife, Ginger, left town, they not only took money owed to collectors and ordinary people who had consigned their valuables for him to sell – but also, a truck full of valuable antiques and collectables.

These valuables came from estate sales and collectors throughout East Portland.

The police had originally advised victims to “write off” their losses. But, when Sgt. Dave Anderson assigned East Precinct officers Michele Michaels and Sheri Davis to the case in 2005, the mystery of the Mathisens’ disappearance slowly began to unravel.

“What kept this investigation alive, Michaels told us, “was that each person we talked to gave us another person to speak with. Many of the victims know one another, in the antique and auction community.”

Son gives up parents

The case broke open when they convinced one of Mathisens’ sons, living in Chicago, to talk. The break came just in time ‚Äì most of the goods were about to be auctioned off in the Windy City.

Anderson, Michaels, and Davis flew to Chicago–packed up the goods–and trucked them back to Portland. The merchandise was put on display at East Precinct in late April, so victims could come and identify their treasures.

“Not only did Mathisen take off with their valuables and money,” Michaels told us, “he took away a piece of their life. The people he cheated gathered at his auction house every week or so. They enjoyed each other’s company; it was like a family. In addition to stealing their valuables and money, Mathisen stole their ability to trust.”

Reunited with lost treasures

Ann Smith of West Coast Antiques was at East Precinct when we arrived. Opening an antique case belonging to Smith and her husband Leonard, she said, “This is one of several dolls we had consigned to Mathisen.”

Smith recounted how their relationship soured, as Mathisen became slow to pay after goods were auctioned. “Finally he stopped paying at all,” Smith continued. “So, we stopped giving him goods to consign.” The final straw, she added, was when two checks Mathisen gave her bounced because he had stopped payment on them.

Officers who helped crack the case, Sheri Davis and Michele Michaels, stand in the East Precinct Community Room – then resembling a showroom at a high-end auction house, laden with merchandise they say auctioneer Robert Mathisen took with him after he disappeared in 2004. David F. Ashton photo

Learn not to be cheated

Michaels told us, “The people who got taken told us, ‘Gosh, I feel so silly, so dumb.’ Or, ‘I wish I’d checked them out better.’ But remember, con artists do what they do well ‚Äì this is what makes them successful.”

How can you protect yourself?

“Listen to your small inner voice,” Michaels said. “If you get the feeling like something isn’t right ‚Äì beware. If someone tells you, ‘please don’t cash this check until next week”, this is a bad sign. Ask around. If you’re putting something on consignment, ask your friends what they know about a particular dealer. Try out an auction house first with smaller, less valuable things.”

Both officers Michaels and Davis said they’d wished they could have collared the Mathisens in Chicago; the slippery couple escaped. “But isn’t it wonderful seeing the smiles on people’s faces who are reunited with their treasures?” Michael’s asked, looking around the room.

© 2006 David F. Ashton ~ East PDX News

By David F. Ashton

Bars and mini-mart workers must know it’s wrong to sell booze to kids. A quick look at the ID of a young-ish looking guy or gal isn’t that difficult. Yet, during Spring Break, getting a swig of hooch wasn’t a problem for several underage youth.

Some of these young people who got served were on a mission ‚Äì and, that mission wasn’t go get drunk. These kids were Portland Police Cadets. They were working with the Oregon Liquor Control Commission to identify employees of businesses who sell alcohol to minors.

Portland Police Cadets Ryan Mele and Ryan Brown aren’t ready to “throw down a cold frosty one” ‚Äì they’re working a mission to see who is selling booze to underage drinkers without checking their ID.

The mission included 100 randomly selected businesses located throughout the city.Of the 96 businesses that were open, employees in 28 of those businesses sold alcohol to minors. By the way, the Cadet’s never carry fake ID ‚Äì they present their real Oregon Driver’s License when ‚Äì or in some cases, if ‚Äì asked for it.

Serve up another round? Sadly, employees at this East Portland establishment didn’t check the ID of Spring Break party people Ryan Brown and Andrea Ettlin. They’re under age. And, they’re East Portland Police Cadets, working a mission to curb booze sales to under-age drinkers.

During their eight-hour spree, some establishment employees did not ask to see the Cadets’ identification, while others did not check the identification closely enough. These careless employees were cited for Furnishing Alcohol to a Minor, which is a Class A misdemeanor.

© 2006 David F. Ashton ~ East PDX News

The 3 a.m. fire at Portland Christian High School was perhaps the work of cowardly hoodlums, students surmise. David F. Ashton Photos

By David F. Ashton – April 3, 2006

The normally quiet of an early morning on NE San Rafael St. was shattered by the roar of fire engines and the wail of sirens early Monday morning. Firefighters sped along NE 122^nd Ave. to answer a second fire call to Portland Christian School, within in the past two months.

Bureau officials say the 3 a.m. fire was at the school’s field house and coach’s office. The blaze, it appears, was started in two portable toilets located next to the grandstand structure, on the north side of building.

This fire was said to have caused $7,500 in damages. The fire about 60 days ago did $32,000 in damages to vehicles and buildings.

Officials say “racist and sexual graffiti” was emblazoned on the outside of a structure nearby the fire scene. Portland Police Bureau Bias Crimes Unit has been called in to investigate the case.

“The talk at school is that who ever did this probably doesn’t even know the meaning of a swastika. It’s the work of punks who want to seem tough,” is how a student who identified himself as Josh, put it to us, outside the school grounds that afternoon. “You notice that these cowards did this in the middle of the night – not when we’re out here.”

The culprit of this fire is subject to Felony Arson charges, officials say. Have information? Call Portland Fire & Rescue investigators at (503) 823-3791.

More on this story as it develops.

?ì 2006 David F. Ashton ‚Äì East PDX News ‚Äì All Rights Reserved

A Wednesday afternoon joy-ride for a 21-year-old ended abruptly at 4:00 p.m. on March 29 in outer East Portland. Police say Jennifer Leeanne Cogswell‚Äôs fun ended when she was found at the wheel of a stolen, black Acura — and arrested.

Cogswell was nailed near SE Powell Blvd. and 122nd Ave. by the Portland Police Bureau’s Auto Theft Task Force. The vehicle was reported stolen out of Hillsboro and used in the commission of a burglary in the Hillsboro area earlier on Wednesday.

Cops are looking for a male riding in the vehicle with Cogswell who escaped and has not been found. He is described as a white male, 5’6″, thin and approximately 25-years-old.

Facing a charge of Unauthorized Use Of a Motor Vehicle and one count of Possession of a Stolen Motor Vehicle, Cogswell was lodged in the Multnomah County Detention Center.

?ì 2006 David F. Ashton – East PDX News

Published March 26, 2006 ~ By David F. Ashton

To raise money for their program, SE Police Cadets Nicholas Kienle, Eli Fernley, Channa Thol and Justin Brill — among others — taking freezing belly-flops and crawling to center ice before a Portland Winterhawks at the Rose Garden. David F. Ashton Photo

What sane person would lay down – on ice – at the Portland Winterhawks goal line and crawl on their bellies to center ice at the Rose Garden?

Southeast Precinct Portland Police Cadet Justin Brill says he considers himself a rational, but explains why he‚Äôs doing this irrational act: “The money we raise helps us support all of our activities at the SE Cadet Post. This isn‚Äôt fun; but we do whatever it takes to support our program.”

Portland Police East Precinct Cadets gather for a group photo before taking their icy slide. David F. Ashton Photo

East Precinct NRT Officer Michael Gallager adds that the group was disappointed that bad weather prevented the Cadets from making their icy “Polar Bear Plunge” canceled weeks earlier because of dangerous conditions on the Columbia River.

So, on March 10, before the hockey game, these youth take to the ice, belly first, dressed in T-shirts and swim gear.

“This is kind of crazy. But we are making good our pledges. I came into the program because I‚Äôm interested in being a police officer,” is how Cadet Nicholas Kienle explains why he‚Äôs taking the icy belly-flop.

Making good on his fund-raising pledges, Portland Police Cadet Channa Thol shinnies across the ice before a Portland Winterhawks at the Rose Garden on March 10. David F. Ashton Photo

On “Go!”, cadet Channa Thol drops to the ice and skitters to the arena‚Äôs center. Afterward, he tells us, “In the Cadet program, we learn the skills necessary to be a police officer. We don‚Äôt carry weapons, of course, but we learn how to patrol, do traffic stops, traffic control. We are proud to serve the community with hundreds of volunteer hours. These missions free up sworn police officers to directly protect and serve our community.”

SE Precinct Police Sgt. Kim Keist didn‚Äôt make the frigid foray, but was there to cheer on her Cadets. When she became a Cadet in the 70s, “it confirmed my decision to make law enforcement my career.” Keist explained that the annual pledge drive provides the funding for this unique program It helps pay for uniform, training and equipment for the youth, 16 to 21 years of age, who become Cadets.

“Our Cadets get invaluable experience,” the Sergeant adds. “Whether they are going into law enforcement as a career or not, the Cadet Program is a great environment in which to learn life skills that will serve them as they become adults.”

For more information regarding the Portland Police Cadet program, contact Officer Heather Rippe, (503) 823-2236.

?ì 2006 David F. Ashton – East PDX News