A house fire tore through a home in Southeast Portland's Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhood early Saturday, displacing two adults and several children and sending one resident away with a burned hand. Firefighters found heavy flames inside the house, including in the attic, before knocking the blaze down and clearing the structure.
Portland Fire & Rescue crews responded to the area near Southeast 141st Avenue and Division Street, according to KGW. Crews arriving on scene saw heavy fire inside the house, including flames in the attic at the back of the structure. Firefighters knocked down the fire from inside the home, pulled a hose line to the roof, and cut a ventilation hole to finish off the attic blaze.
Resident Hurt, Family Left Without a Home
After searching the house, Portland Fire & Rescue reported an all-clear. One resident reported a burn to their hand but declined medical treatment, per the same report. The fire was reported done around 2:39 a.m. Saturday, and the Red Cross was contacted to help the two displaced adults and several displaced children find lodging and support. A fire investigator and representatives from PGE also responded to the scene, though the cause of the blaze has not been determined in available reporting.
A Mill Park Fire Occurred Weeks Earlier
Portland firefighters also responded to a separate residential fire in the nearby Mill Park neighborhood on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, weeks before the Powellhurst-Gilbert fire. The Mill Park fire broke out at approximately 4:28 a.m., according to Portland Fire & Rescue. That blaze, near Southeast 141st Avenue and Harrison Street, escalated to a second alarm before crews knocked down the main body of fire within about 20 minutes. It ultimately displaced three residents and sent one neighboring occupant to the hospital for smoke-related respiratory concerns.
Mill Park has seen fire trouble before. On Oct. 16, a wind-driven fire that started in a shed in the 14100 block of Southeast Harrison Street quickly spread to a nearby house and threatened to catch a neighbor's home on fire, as KATU reported at the time. A neighbor downwind of that fire was taken to the hospital over concerns about smoke inhalation.
An Earlier Powellhurst-Gilbert Fire
Saturday's fire comes after a separate house fire in Powellhurst-Gilbert in December 2024. That fire left five people without a home; officials said at the time that no one was injured and that the flames were quickly extinguished, with the cause remaining under investigation, KATU reported in its earlier coverage of a Powellhurst-Gilbert blaze. KBND also reported on another Powellhurst-Gilbert house fire that displaced five people, with no injuries reported in that incident.
Not every nearby house fire has gone unexplained. In a separate case in the Lents neighborhood, an attic fire at a house on Southeast Boise Street was traced by a Portland Fire & Rescue investigator to an electrical problem, with damage estimated at $21,000, according to East PDX News. In that case, Red Cross volunteers provided two adults and two children with lodging, food, infant supplies and other support after they lost their home.
Fire Safety Reminders as Cold Weather Sets In
As colder weather pushes more households toward portable heaters and outdoor fire pits, Portland Fire & Rescue has reiterated its safety guidance for keeping flames away from structures. The agency advises keeping portable fireplaces at least 15 feet from structures or significant vegetation, and keeping ground fire rings at least 25 feet away, according to Portland Fire & Rescue.
