VIDEO: A person living at a care facility complex in northeast Portland suffered life-threatening burns in a fire on Sunday afternoon, according to Portland Fire & Rescue. At about 2:30 p.m., crews rushed to the Firwood Gardens Memory Care and Assisted Living Facility in the Hazelwood Neighborhood. The two-story building has about 90 units, most of them occupied, and the majority of residents have limited mobility. Firefighters called for a second alarm to bring more crews to the scene as they worked to evacuate the impacted wing of the facility, with many people needing to be carried out of the building. Once crews were able to break into the unit where the fire was burning, they found a person lying in a bed filled with flames.
That person was rushed to a Portland burn center with โsignificant injuries,โ PF&R said. Later, firefighters said the personโs injuries were life-threatening. Firefighters said the personโs unit had oxygen bottles that they used to help breathe. A person in a neighboring unit was also checked for injuries, which appeared to be minor, according to firefighters. PF&R noted that the facilityโs sprinkler system helped stop the flames from spreading beyond the initial unit. Firefighters are investigating the unit where the fire started and speaking with staff members to determine how the fire started.
