By MES Dispatch staff
The Briefing
• A fire in a living pod at the North Portland Road Safe Rest Village in Portland, Oregon, Monday evening killed one resident, fire officials said.
• Portland Fire & Rescue crews found the pod nearly fully consumed by flames when they arrived and extinguished the blaze.
• Staff at the shelter attempted to suppress the fire with handheld extinguishers before firefighters’ arrival, officials reported.
• The fire was contained to the single unit and did not spread to other pods, authorities said.
• Investigators are working to determine the cause of the fire; no further details have been released.
PORTLAND, OR — A resident of the North Portland Road Safe Rest Village in Portland died Monday evening after a living pod at the outdoor homeless shelter caught fire and was nearly fully consumed by flames, authorities said.
Portland Fire & Rescue crews responded just before 6 p.m. and found the pod “nearly completely consumed” by fire; firefighters doused the blaze and confirmed the occupant remained inside and did not survive, agency officials reported.
Staff at the shelter attempted to use handheld fire extinguishers to reduce the fire before fire crews’ arrival, but the blaze was too large and too hot to control without fire engine water, officials said.
City and fire investigators said the fire was contained to the single pod and did not spread to neighboring units at the managed shelter operated by Urban Alchemy.
Portland Fire & Rescue and the Portland Police Bureau Fire Investigations Unit are reviewing the circumstances and cause of the fire; officials have not yet released the identity of the person who died.