PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland Fire & Rescue crews responded to three separate residential fires, including one deadly fire, within a span of less than 12 hours on Friday. A woman died following an early morning apartment fire in North Portland.
Firefighters responded to the second floor unit of the apartment near North Argyle Way and Hunt Street just before 3 a.m. and found one person inside. They were taken to the hospital in critical condition, but did not survive and fire officials have not released their name. The fire happened at Argyle Gardens, which is operated by Transition Projects, a nonprofit that helps people experiencing homelessness transition into housing. In a statement released late Friday afternoon, Transition Projects confirmed that a woman died.
"We are devastated to learn that an Argyle Gardens resident lost her life in the fire this morning. Our deepest thoughts and condolences are with her family, friends and neighbors," said Stacy Borke, the co-interim executive director of Transition Projects.
"From my perspective, the fatality was a tragedy," said Lt. Laurent Picard with Portland Fire & Rescue. "That's hard on the firefighters and it is hard, of course, on the person's family."
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Another fire broke out around 6 a.m. at a boarded up house near the intersection of Southeast 87th Avenue and Clinton Street. Portland Fire & Rescue said "heavy smoke and fire" was coming from the building's attic on the second floor and the roof was partially collapsed. No injuries were reported. Firefighters told KGW Friday morning that they planned to remain on scene and let the abandoned house burn in a controlled fashion because it is packed with items and is not safe to enter.
Crews also extinguished a fire that started around 12:30 p.m. at an apartment near the intersection of Southeast 47th Avenue and Clinton Street. One person was rescued from a building adjacent to the unit that caught on fire.
Fire investigators are currently working to determine the cause of all three fires.
"It's really hard to say whether the cold temperatures had anything to do with these fires," said Picard. "But that said, as colder temperatures come, we ask people to watch their open flame devices including fireplaces and candles. Get their chimneys cleaned at least once a year and space heaters need to be far away from any flammable combustible objects in their house."
