GRESHAM, Ore. — A Gresham firefighter suffered severe injuries while searching for a person inside a burning duplex Thursday night and is in critical condition. Two other firefighters were also injured and taken to the hospital, according to the Gresham Fire Department, although by late Friday morning, they had been treated and released.
Firefighter Spencer Tejedas suffered severe burns to over 45% of his body, the city said, and is sedated and intubated at the Oregon Burn Center at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center. Gresham Fire Chief Scott Lewis said Tejedas will likely need to spend about 8 weeks in the burn center and go through multiple surgeries, followed by a lengthy recovery period.
"Incidents of this nature are a harrowing reminder that despite our best efforts with robust training and protective gear just how dangerous the job of a firefighter is," Lewis said in a statement. "Our hearts go out to the entire Tejedas family."
The fire started shortly after 10 p.m. at a duplex on Southeast 182nd Avenue in Gresham. Lewis said Tejedas and the other two injured firefighters were the first to enter the house; when the engine pulled up, a tenant and other people nearby immediately began telling them that there was a teenager with disabilities trapped inside, likely in a front bedroom.
"That was the best information we had, and this was the mom that said her son was in there," Lewis explained. "He had left while she was gone, so she didn't know that — she came home and found her home on fire."
The three firefighters went in to search, attempting to follow the right-hand wall due to heavy smoke conditions, but their entry allowed fresh air to move into the structure and triggered an event called a flashover in which a large area bursts into flame all at once.
"It went from zero to a thousand miles per hour instantaneously," Lewis said.
Two firefighters were able to make it to the front door, and another out the back door. Tejedas was severely burned and one of the other firefighters also suffered what Lewis described as a significant burn on one shoulder and will require some time off to recover. The third firefighter suffered minor injuries.
"The Gresham Fire family is hurting today but so proud of brother Spencer Tejedas, who put his life on the line to save what was told a victim in a burning home," said Kevin Larson, president of Local 1062 Gresham Professional Fire Fighters. "We ask the community to keep him in their prayers and thoughts, as he has a long recovery road ahead from his injuries for his heroic acts."
No civilians were injured in the fire, and the crews were able to keep the fire contained to one unit of the duplex. The Gresham Fire Department said it was investigating the cause of the fire, and the city later said in a news release that the fire was found to have been an accident caused by an unattended candle.
Tejedas joined the Gresham Fire Department in November 2020, according to a city spokesperson. Lewis said he spoke to Tejedas's family Thursday night and that they were not surprised to hear that he had rushed into the burning building before the crews could get a hose line in place for protection.
"They just think that's the man he is, and they're right," Lewis said. "He's the kind of guy you want on your crew; he's the kind of guy you want backing you up. He's the kind of guy you want to follow into trouble."
A GoFundMe has been set up for Tejedas and his family as he recovers.
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