A mid-day apartment house fire could have been worse, but see how the fast response from three fire stations limited the damage …
By cutting open the roof and quenching the fire from the attic, they kept the two-story unit from burning down.
Story and photos by David F. Ashton
Even though the apartment building was set far back on the property, making it difficult to reach, fire crews still made short work of a fire that broke out around noon on December 6.
Portland Fire & Rescue stations 29 and 45 – aided by a Gresham Fire unit – raced to the 15200 block of SE Division St.
“There was a good amount smoke showing on the second floor apartment when we arrived,” Battalion Chief Dave Disciascio told us on scene.
Firefighters had to run long lengths of hoses to reach the burning building.
“It’s deep set on a flag lot,” Disciascio explained. “This made access very difficult. Our companies had to lay their hose a long way from Division St.”
The chief said they suspected the fire from the unit had spread to the attic. “Our firefighters quickly opened the roof and found fire. They got water on the fire and stopped it before it spread throughout the length of the building.”
We learned, unofficially, that the fire may have been caused by furniture or other flammables being placed too close to a heater. The fire remains under investigation.
© 2006 David F. Ashton ~ East PDX News
click here to subscribe
