Hazelwood duplex fire displaces two families

Although firefighters quickly responded to this Memorial Day fire, the damage to these outer East Portland housing units looks severe …

Fire crews rush to SE 97^th Avenue, just east of the I-205 Freeway, in the Hazelwood neighborhood – to find this duplex ablaze.

Story and photos by David F. Ashton

Seeing a duplex on fire at 308 SE 97^th Avenue, on Memorial Day afternoon, May 28, neighbors called in the blaze to Portland Fire & Rescue (PF&R) at 4:11 p.m. that afternoon

PF&R Mill Park Station #7’s Engine Company was the first on scene, and reported seeing heavy smoke while approaching the area. Within minutes, two other engines had arrived, along with two ladder trucks.

According to fire officials, the fire started on the exterior of the duplex, and spread quickly to three sides of the building and into the attic.

Firefighters work on exterior, roof, and interior to put out this fire.

At 4:28 p.m. a PF&R official reported, “Crews have made an aggressive attack and knocked down the fire on the exterior, and gained access to the attic from the interior and the roof, where they are working to vent the heat and extinguish the fire.”

A PF&R fire investigator arrived and began to determine how the flames got started, while crews continued extinguishing hotspots.

A fire investigator heads into the burned building to begin his investigation.

“There have not been any reported injuries related to this fire,” PF&R public Information Officer Capt. Louisa Jones told East Portland News. “As of May 31, investigators have not yet released the cause of the fire.”

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