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1 dead in pod fire at Ore. homeless shelter

A fire in a pod at Portland’s North Portland Road Safe Rest Village killed one resident

By Sami Edge
oregonlive.com

PORTLAND, Ore. — A resident of a Portland safe rest village died Monday evening when a living unit known as a pod caught fire, Portland Fire & Rescue said in a news release.

Portland firefighters responded to the North Portland Road Safe Rest Village shelter just before 6 p.m. and found the pod “nearly completely consumed” by fire, the agency said.

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Staff members at the facility attempted to put the fire out with handheld extinguishers, the news release said, but the fire was “too hot and too large.” Responding fire crews doused the flames with water from a fire engine.

First responders confirmed that the pod’s occupant was still inside the home and did not survive, the news release said.

The fire did not spread to additional pods. The city of Portland managed shelter is operated by Urban Alchemy.

Portland fire and police investigators are working to determine the cause of the fire. Officials did not immediately identify the person who died.

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