At 7:42 am Tuesday, Portland firefighters responded to the report of a house fire at 1749 SE 46th Ave. Firefighters arrived and reported fire coming from the front window of the ground floor a Duplex.
Neighbors and witnesses reported to firefighters that there may still be someone in the downstairs apartment. As firefighters attacked the fire other fire crews began a search of the home. As the search teams battled the heat and smoke they found the victim, a middle aged male, on the first floor and brought him outside.
Firefighters and medics from AMR, began advanced life support including CPR and IV’s and transported the patient to Emanuel Hospital. The patient is currently in critical condition.
A second victim that escaped from the upstairs apartment was transported to Providence with minor health concerns.
During the clean up and investigation 1 firefighter was transported to the hospital to receive stitches for a cut on the hand.
Portland Fire Investigators suspect the fire started in the front room on the ground floor of the lower apartment. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, and no damage estimate is available at this time.