Learn how Portland Fire & Rescue crews protected nearby homes while tackling back-to-back overnight fires – first in Hazelwood, then in Cully …
Portland Fire & Rescue rigs line the street as firefighters respond to back-to-back overnight blazes in outer East Portland, beginning with a Hazelwood apartment fire and followed by a commercial structure fire in Cully.
Story by David F. Ashton
On Thursday, October 8, 2026 at 7:16 p.m., emergency responders with Portland Fire & Rescue (PF&R) were dispatched by the Portland Bureau of Emergency Communications to a call initially categorized as “Structure Fire – Small Apartment Building – Unknown If Trapped” along East Burnside Street near S. E. 106th Avenue in outer East Portland.
The incident marked the first of two significant fires tackled by PF&R within a six-hour period in outer East Portland – the second incident, 4.5 miles in the Cully neighborhood.
Heavy flames and hazardous conditions in Hazelwood
Firefighters ladder up to the roof of the Hazelwood apartment house to overcome difficult structural access and extinguish the stubborn attic fire.
Arriving at the Hazelwood neighborhood location near the TriMet MAX Light Rail line at sunset, first-due crews encountered heavy flames pouring from a small apartment house.
Alongside the structural blaze, firefighters confronted immediate life-safety hazards, including an active, arcing power line bouncing beside the building and a nearby vehicle actively on fire while leaking fuel.
Firefighters cut open the roof to provide vertical ventilation while crews simultaneously attack the fire concealed inside the Hazelwood apartment house’s attic space.
Firefighters immediately executed interior search operations, confirming that all occupants were safely outside. No injuries were reported among residents or emergency personnel.
Gaining direct access to the fire in the attic space proved particularly difficult for crews on scene. To overcome the structural obstacle, firefighters creatively deployed an infrequently used specialty nozzle applicator, successfully extinguishing the body of fire concealed within the attic spaces.
On the ground, crews navigate severe hazards—including a vehicle that burned and leaked fuel beside the structure—to stretch hose lines to the Hazelwood apartment house.
PF&R Public Information Officer Rick Graves recounted that crews encountered demanding conditions right from their arrival.
He explained that while the bouncing power line and burning vehicle created severe challenges, the crew’s innovative use of the attic nozzle applicator enabled them to knock down the fire effectively. Official reports confirmed the cause of the Hazelwood fire remains under investigation.
With the blaze knocked down, firefighters stand down outside the Hazelwood apartment building while commanders prepare to turn the scene over to investigators.
Should you have information about this fire, and have not spoken with investigators, call the PF&R Tip Line at 503‑823‑3473 and let them know it’s about Case No. RP26-122182.
Commercial structure fire in Cully
In the industrial area of the Cully neighborhood, PF&R crews lay in water hose lines as they maneuver around semi-trucks and trailers to surround the burning metal-clad repair facility.
Then, at 1:38 a.m. on Friday, October 9, 2026 – about three hours after clearing the East Burnside Street incident – PF&R responded to a second major fire at Gladiator Trailer Services, a semi-truck fabrication and repair facility located just off N. E. Killingsworth Street at 7510 Lombard Street, in the Cully neighborhood.
Arriving crews found heavy flames surging from a multi-story metal-clad structure, with a lot crowded with semi cabs and trailers complicating their initial approach.
After breaching a steel roll-up door, firefighters pour heavy streams of water into the burning Cully commercial facility to hit the advancing flames inside.
Firefighters initially mounted an offensive attack through a failed roll-up garage door, but rapidly advancing flames forced commanders to pull crews back to a defensive posture. Firefighters cut through an adjacent roll-up door to pour water inside while an aerial ladder truck deployed a tip-mounted master stream.
Because the nearest hydrants were situated blocks away, engines established an inline relay pumping system to supply the necessary water pressure.
With an aerial stream of water from above and ground streams pouring in through the garage door, this two-alarm firefight saves over half of the commercial structure.
Commanders called a 2nd Alarm to position a Battalion Chief and an engine company as defensive lines for a row of homes on an elevated hill west of the building. Crews successfully brought the fire under control, saving over half the structure with no injuries reported.
Again, if you have information about this fire, and have not spoken with investigators, call the PF&R Tip Line at 503‑823‑3473 and let them know it’s about Case No. RP26-122276.
Images courtesy of Portland Fire & Rescue
© 2026 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News™
