INCLUDES RIDE-ALONG VIDEO | Some residents jumped from upper floors of the outer East Portland apartment building; others were rescued by ladder; but so far, none have died …
In the Hazelwood neighborhood, Portland Fire & Rescue crews arrive to find the entire building face ablaze – especially the front wooden staircase – at this apartment structure.
By David F. Ashton
Fire alarms sounded at the Vandalay Arms Apartments at 10405 East Burnside Street, early on Friday morning, July 11. Multiple panicked calls to the 9-1-1 Center triggered a “Structure Fire with High Life Hazard” dispatch of two Portland Fire & Rescue (PF&R) stations at 5:53 a.m.
Watch as a PF&R official is heading to this fire, as seen from their dashboard camera:
While crews were headed toward the fire, their dispatchers relayed messages from desperate callers saying that “fire was outside their door”, and that some residents were “jumping from the second story windows”.
At the scene, firefighters drag water lines through the parking lot to reach the apartment building engulfed in flames.
The first firefighters to arrive were from PF&R Mill Park Station 7. Their designated communicator told dispatchers by radio that thy saw “heavy fire” on the building, and that the structure was set back about 150 feet from the street.
As rigs and crew members squeezed into the relatively narrow access to the apartment building’s driveway, some hooked up water supply line hoses and started fighting the fire, while others began rescue efforts. Some hoses ran across Burnside and the MAX tracks, so all traffic was stopped until the fire was quelled.
Firefighters concentrate their water streams on the front of the building apartment building.
The fire was close beside the huge Traditions at Hazelwood retirement facility – so the PF&R Incident Commander called for a third alarm, bringing more resources to the fire; and then, at 6:30 a.m., he requested a fourth alarm – bringing a total of 80 personnel, including some from the Gresham Fire Department to provide “mutual aid”.
“Ladder Truck 7’s crew quickly threw ladders to elevated windows, with fire pushing out below them, to rescue occupants on the third level; other firefighters investigated the entire building,” PF&R Public Information Officer Rick Graves told reporters.
Firefighters bring in multiple hose lines to fight this substantial fire.
Crews cleverly put together a system of metal extension ladders to span sections of the burned-out wooden staircase, and carry up water line hoses and gear – from the ground level to the third floor.
With the wooden stairs charred and failing, Ladder Truck crews used extension ladders to breach the gap between floors, so firefighters could safely pull water lines from the ground level to the 3rd floor. It was then that crews discovered that, throughout this three-level, 12-unit building, half of the apartments were on fire, to one extent or another.
“As crews were putting out the fire, Parkrose Training Station 2’s Ladder Truck’s new recruits – supervised by their training specialists – successfully rescued six occupants trapped in the upper floor apartments,” commended Graves. “This ‘real world on the job training’ gave our newest Fire Bureau members a great foundation of experience on which to build, throughout their careers.”
Ten ambulances pulled in to get ready for victims injured in this fire.
Other crews established a medical station, and triaged injured residents who’d been moved to the street.
“There were two patients who clearly needed medical attention,” Graves reported. “One of the victims had jumped from an elevated position, sustaining a possible broken ankle and burns to the upper leg. The second occupant evaluated reportedly had smaller ‘contact singe burns’ on the arm.”
Here’s a look at the burned-out balconies along the side of the building, after the fire was extinguished.
The escape route for one family in an unburnt unit was blocked by the blaze until firefighters found a way to safely escort them out of the building.
Most of the fire was “knocked down” by 6:30 a.m., and was called fully extinguished by 6:45 a.m., Graves said.
“By the numbers, there were two individuals injured in this fire, and eight humans rescued – along with one cat and four dogs,” summarized Graves. “At least 16 individuals have been displaced because of this fire because of structural damage and safe access to apartments.”
Red Cross Cascades Division responded and took the lead helping occupants with the relocation needed by those displaced by suspected arson fire.
PF&R Public Information Officer speaks with reporters at the scene. Courtesy KGW-TV News 8
“The PF&R-PPB Fire Investigation Unit has detained an individual for questioning,” Graves stated. “They’re doing what they can to narrow down the source of what’s caused this fire.”
Witnesses said that a man was led away in handcuffs while the embers of the fire were still being put out. Late the same afternoon the Portland Police Bureau confirmed that a man had been arrested in the case – and that he was, in fact, a tenant of the burned building.
Portland Fire then identified the person arrested as 40-year-old Shaun Michael Szwarz, who was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center (MCDC) at 5:37 p.m. that afternoon on six counts of first-degree arson, six counts of reckless endangering, and six counts of first-degree criminal mischief. Szwarz remains in the MCDC at least until his arraignment and perhaps bail is set.
If you have any information regarding this fire, please contact 503-823-FIRE (3473) – and tell them this is regarding Case No. 25-76919.
Images courtesy of Portland Fire & Rescue, except as noted
© 2025 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News™
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