March 20--A firefighter was briefly trapped in a basement house fire in North Portland early Thursday morning.
Portland Fire and Rescue crews were dispatched to a house fire in the 8000-block of North Hudson Avenue shortly after midnight. Neighbors reported seeing dark smoke coming from windows and roof eaves. The smoke was "under pressure," said Lt. Rich Chatman, a fire spokesman.
The blaze was traced to the basement.
Smoke and heat made it difficult to navigate, according to Chatman, and one firefighter was unable to locate the stairwell to exit.
The incident commander on the scene Thursday deployed a rescue intervention team to locate the lost or disoriented firefighter, who was led to safety. No other injuries were reported. Firefighters put out the fire and investigators were on scene, working to identify the cause and make damage assessments.
-- Kimberly A.C. Wilson
Copyright 2014 - The Oregonian, Portland, Ore.
