Busy Thursday For Firefighters In North Portland.

Portland, Ore. — Portland Fire & Rescue responded to two separate fires in North Portland earlier today. The first was a shipboard fire that required a large number of resources due to the complexities of a fire aboard a ship. The second was a residential fire in the Piedmont Neighborhood that was dispatched just 8 minutes after the first fire.

The shipboard fire was reported at 10:10 AM and involved a 34’ research vessel with a fire in the engine compartment. The crew of four was able to beach the vessel and jump off for safety before securing it to a large deadhead tree using a bowline. The nearest landmark for communication was Terminal Four, a large facility that made land-based access to the vessel difficult. The first responders were able to communicate with the researchers via cell phone and eventually extinguished the fire with the help of Portland Fireboat 6.

Just eight minutes after the shipboard fire was reported, Portland Fire & Rescue received a call about a possible residential fire in the Piedmont Neighborhood. Due to the previous fire, the nearest available engine was 10 minutes away. The first engine arrived at the scene at 10:25 AM and reported a 1 ½ story residence with heavy fire on the backside of the house.

The Land Based Marine Unit, which had diverted from the shipboard fire, was able to help with the firefighting efforts. The first hose line was able to quickly extinguish the flames on the covered back porch and was repositioned to the front of the home for an interior offensive fire attack. Crews also cut holes in the roof and pulled ceiling to extinguish the fire in the attic space.

The main body of the fire was significantly reduced in just 7 minutes after the arrival of the first engine and completely extinguished in an additional 13 minutes. There were no reported injuries, but one individual was displaced from the residence. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Overall, Portland Fire & Rescue successfully addressed both fires, demonstrating their ability to handle complex and challenging situations.