Quick firefighter response keeps garage fire from burning down Centennial home

Although reportedly started as “just a garage door on fire” – but it could have ended up much worse, if not for Portland Fire & Rescue’s fast arrival …

After cutting through a burning garage door, firefighters hose the fire just inside that door. *

Story by David F. Ashton

Reports of a house fire on Sunday, January 4, dispatched a full complement of Portland Fire & Rescue (PF&R) firefighters and apparatus at 8:03 p.m. to a single-family residence in the 3100 block of SE 157th Avenue.

Minutes later, PF&R Mill Park Station 7’s Engine and Ladder Truck companies pulled up to the burning structure on SE 157th Avenue, halfway between SE Division Street and Powell Boulevard.

After searching for potential victims inside the house, PF&R Mill Park Station 7’s Ladder Truck firefighters cut open the roof to put out fire in the garage’s attic. *

The Engine Company 31’s crew – Station 31 is uniquely shared by PF&R and Gresham Fire & Emergency Services – was also dispatched to this fire, with Gresham Fire personnel on hand that evening.

Minute by minute, here’s how this event unfolded, according to PF&R messages:

8:07 p.m.
Update from the dispatcher: the [reporting] caller is saying “it’s just a garage door on fire.”

Truck 7 has arrived, and assigned a primary search of the residence [to make sure no one was in the structure].

8:08 p.m.
First arriving crew [Engine 7] is reporting a garage on fire, and they are deploying a hose line for an offensive [direct] attack on the fire.

Crew members spray down the inside of the garage, quenching the fire. *

8:10 p.m.
Engine 7 fire attack crew has knocked down the fire, and are checking for any possible extensions [adjacent areas that might have caught fire].

8:15 p.m.
Safety Officer [a crew member who monitors incident scenes for hazards, ensuring firefighter welfare] is reporting there is still pressurized smoke coming from the attic space above the garage.

Taken from the inside, this photo shows the charred interior of the garage. *

It took another half hour for crews to pull away charred materials, to make sure there were not any remaining embers, and to put out hot spots.

There were no reports of injuries. A PF&R Fire Investigator was called to the incident, but so far, there has been no information revealed about what caused the fire.

* All images by PF&R Photographer Greg Muhr

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