Firefighter’s ear burned during explosive ‘flashover’ while responding to blaze at SE Portland home

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A firefighter received a minor burn to their ear while responding to a home fire in Southeast Portland when a sudden and explosive “flashover” occurred in the home while crews were on the scene, authorities said.

Portland Fire and Rescue said they responded Wednesday at 10:46 a.m. on reports of a house fire in the Foster-Powell Neighborhood emitting “lots of gray smoke” coming from the area of Southeast 65th Avenue.

When they arrived, crews made entry into the structure to initiate a search in the “small yet heavily cluttered home.”

Firefighters were routing hose lines into the home’s entry when suddenly “the front room of the home experienced a flashover, where the smoke and aerosolized fuels simultaneously reach their ignition temperatures leading to a rapid spread across an enclosed area,” PF&R said in a press release.

“In this case, members of the search crew were in the area and affected by the explosive action. Although the crew had properly donned their protective clothing that covers members from head to toe, one of the members received a minor burn to an ear through the protective hood worn,” PF&R said.

The firefighters who experienced the flashover left the building, while other crew members applied water from hoses to the building’s interior.

The fire got under control after crews eliminated the threat of flames spreading to other homes. Firefighters on the interior second floor doused the flames as other crews sprayed water from the exterior. Firefighters also cut holes in the roof to release hot gasses and smoke.

The firefighter whose ear was burned is being treated for the minor injury.

No one else was injured in the fire and the home was not occupied at the time of the incident, said Rick Graves, a PF&R spokesperson. It remains unclear if any permanent residents of the home were displaced.

The cause of the fire is not known and it is still under investigation.