Portland firefighters rescued a resident and, with the ambulance 10 minutes out, transported the patient themselves

By Sami Edge
oregonlive.com

PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland firefighters responded to an apartment fire near Northwest 23rd Ave and Northwest Overton Street around 9 a.m. Sunday to find “heavy gray smoke” pouring from a second-floor window, Portland Fire & Rescue said in a news release.

Firefighters found a resident stuck on the top floor of the complex, three levels above the street, and pulled the person out of their window. An ambulance was still 10 minutes away at the time, firefighters said, so they drove the patient to the hospital themselves. The person is in serious condition, suffering from burns and complications from smoke inhalation, the fire bureau said.

| EMS1: Is it ever acceptable to transport a patient in a fire truck?

One of the firefighters hurt his back during the rescue and had to be transported to the hospital as well, the bureau said.

Firefighters knocked out the blaze within minutes of their arrival. The fire extended to a neighboring unit and that resident also went to the hospital to be evaluated for minor injuries, the fire bureau said.

At least three residents were displaced from their homes and two pets, one dog and one cat, died in the fire, the bureau said.

Has your department ever had to use fire apparatus or a police vehicle to transport a patient to a hospital?

©2025 Advance Local Media LLC.
Visit oregonlive.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

San Diego Fire-Rescue is rolling out two new 600-gallon brush rigs and a Bell 412 EPX helicopter with a 375-gallon tank and night ops expected by late November

Elkhart officials kicked off construction of a $9M replacement for Fire Station 6, funded from cash reserves

Lafayette Fire Capt. and Navy veteran Coby Bailey won Season 4 of “The Great American Recipe” with cornbread-stuffed chicken over grits and firehouse cobbler

Fire Police Captain Ed Margavich, 80, is Station 14’s first line-of-duty death in 70 years

August 18, 2025 09:37 AM

 · 

CAD planning services allow fire departments to design cleaner, healthier environments from the ground up