Fire chars Northeast Portland home, displaces family of four

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Fire investigators are still on the scene of a Thursday house fire as they attempt to determine the cause.

At just before 6 p.m. Thursday, Portland firefighters were dispatched to reports of smoke billowing from a house on fire at 4536 NE 99th Avenue. Firefighters arrived in just two minutes to find flames coming from the back of the house and windows shattering.

Firefighters later shut down Northeast Prescott Street as engine and truck crews responded from surrounding fire stations.

Firefighters got to the roof of the home and cut holes to vent the heat and smoke before other firefighters inside the home made an aggressive attack to knock down the blaze. After extinguishing the body of fire, firefighters used pike poles to pull the entire second floor ceiling and search for hidden fire. The fire was brought under control at 6:23 p.m.

At the time of the fire, a mother and her three children -- ages 7, 13, and 15 -- were not home. The family, which was renting the home, does have renter’s insurance. The Red Cross has been called to the scene to help the family find alternate housing.