PHOTOS: A firefighter suffered an ear burn while battling a house fire early Wednesday morning in Southeast Portland’s Foster Powell neighborhood. Crews were called out at about 10:45 a.m. Wednesday after someone reported “lots of gray smoke” coming from a house on Southeast 65th Avenue. First arriving crews saw several vehicles in front of the house and firefighters said they were concerned about people inside the home. They later determined that no one was inside the home, a report from Portland Fire & Rescue said.
While firefighters were inside the home, there was a “flash over” in the front room, described by officials as when “smoke and aerosolized fuels simultaneously reach their ignition temperatures leading to a rapid spread across an enclosed area.” While crews were wearing protective gear, one was burned through their protective hood and suffered a minor ear burn. That person later received treatment for the injury. Firefighters managed to get the flames contained enough to eliminate the concern of spread to neighboring homes shortly after the “10-minute timer,” Portland Fire said.
