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'I would do it all over again': Portland rescue crews reflect one year after saving two dozen people from fire

Firefighters reunited with the people they helped save from a large fire at a Southeast Portland adult care facility last year.

PORTLAND, Ore. — One year after a large fire tore through an adult care facility in Southeast Portland, residents got a chance to reunite with the firefighters who helped save their lives. 

In the early morning hours of May 11, 2022, an electrical fire broke out in one of the buildings at iHome Care and Dialysis — known at the time as Hope N Care — where many of the residents are wheelchair-bound and have a hard time getting around.

Firefighters who arrived at the scene knew it wasn't going to be just any normal fire.

"All mobility-impaired, we had 24 firefighters and we had 24 to get out, and we had help from staff," said Lt. Ty Callicotte, who was one of the first on scene that morning. 

Credit: Greg Muhr/Portland Fire & Rescue

The crews had help that morning from Timothy Spencer, a manager who lives in another building on the property.

"I live upstairs from the building behind us, and I got the call around 1:05 in the morning and when I got into the building it was completely filled with smoke," Spencer said.

After getting the call, Spencer said he immediately ran over and heard people screaming, and he jumped right into action and started working to get residents out of the building.

 "That's just a shell of the place, the jewels were the people inside and they got everybody out," said Gordon Furthan, one of the people rescued that morning.

The fire caused $2 million in damages and left a section of the facility heavily burned out, but after a year of reconstruction, the section is just a couple months away from reopening.

Credit: KGW

A year after the fire that caused two million dollars in damages, the section of the facility is now just a couple of months away from opening again. 

Lt. Callicotte said this kind of fire often ends in tragedy, but in this case, every person was rescued. All 24 residents got out safely, and nobody was injured.

"A fire like this happens... one or two times a year across the country, and the ones that happen aren’t a positive outcome like this," he said.

Spencer, who was first on scene that morning, said he felt that it was like rescuing his mom or dad, and he would do it all over again at the drop of a hat.

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