INCLUDES AFTERMATH VIDEO | Looking at the structure after this fire, we were amazed no one was injured in this outer East Portland fire. Find out what kept this blaze from doing even more damage …
Working inside and out of this apartment house, firefighters from eight stations worked together to put out the fire that ravaged this apartment building.
Story and photos by David F. Ashton
A little after dawn on Saturday morning, August 3, many residents of “The Arleta” apartment complex, at 5224 S. E. 72nd Avenue near Mitchell Street, suddenly smelled smoke – and some saw fire.
Many frantic calls to the 9-1-1 Center sent multiple Portland Fire & Rescue (PF&R) crews their way. Lents Station 11’s Engine and Rescue Companies arrived first, at 7:07 a.m.
Watch this exclusive video of firefighters battling to put out hotspots after beating down the flames in this apartment building fire:
“Responding crews communicated to dispatchers that they saw a smoke column – a ‘header’ – on their way to the location,” PF&R Public Information Officer Rick Graves told East Portland News.
Woodstock Station 25’s Ladder Truck Company pulled up just after the rigs from the Lents Station; their crew planted their rig in the center of S.E. 72nd Avenue, and extended their aerial ladder so firefighters could access the roof.
Another firefighter is about to drag an additional hose up the stairs to spray more water the fire.
As they pulled up, crews saw an attic fire with heavy dark smoke pushing from the eaves and vents within the structure. The Commander directed the first-arriving engine to begin an “offensive fire attack”, taking hose lines to the interior of the building to extinguish the fire.
“The dispatchers told crews that there might possibly be a trapped victim in an identified apartment, which added the need for an ambulance to the fire call, in the event of injuries,” Graves continued. “Firefighters searched the affected structure thoroughly and fully, but no victims were located inside the building.”
On the roof, these firefighters – mostly with Clackamas County District #1, providing mutual aid – continue to cut open the roof to reach and extinguish the remaining fire in the attic.
“Fire was present on both levels of the garden-style apartment complex, with the fire growing in the second level independent apartments,” said Graves.
With each apartment having separate entrances on the ground and on the second level, firefighters needed to put out the fire in one unit; then drag the house out and on to the next one.
On the back side of the roof, PF&R crews from three Ladder Truck Companies join in to open the roof for ventilation and to access fire in the attic.
With most of the fire extinguished, this firefighter sets a low-pressure stream of water to douse the embers below.
Some of the residents talk with a PF&R Investigator (dressed in the white “bunny suit” and mask); in the background, the crew of Woodstock Station 25’s Ladder Truck Company monitors their rig.
A “second alarm” was quickly dispatched to bring in more firefighters to move the hose in and out of each individual living space, and to work on opening the roof to access the fire in the attic.
“Crews from PF&R and Clackamas County District #1 were able to control this fire, which affected nine of the twelve apartments in the building, after about 20 minutes – with no reported injuries to responders or occupants,” Graves reported.
On the right side of this image, near the ladder, the concrete “fire wall” to restrict the fire from spreading from apartment to apartment is visible.
What stopped the fire from burning the entire building?
“A concrete fire wall, extended from ground through the roof, did its job, keeping the fire from spreading to the attached set of apartments to the east,” Graves pointed out.
Because of the fire, 15 residents were displaced. This fire is under investigation, with no cause yet determined.
© 2024 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News™
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