Firefighters battle clutter, flames in SE Portland house fire
PORTLAND, Ore. – Firefighters put out a fire at home that they said was “filled with various items” in Southeast Portland Friday night.
No one was hurt.
Firefighters responded to the home at 5815 SE Ramona Street just after 11 p.m. Smoke and flames were coming from the chimney when they arrived.
Firefighters said they had to break down metal security bars and move items out of the home just to get inside and get to the fire.
"I was in bed and smelled the smoke and I looked out the window and by then the fire trucks were there," said neighbor Dolores Kirkland. "They got there pretty fast."
Kirkland said she saw and smelled clouds of white smoke for over two hours.
"It's a scary feeling, being that close," she said. "You don't know when it might come over through the hedge and into my house."
Investigators said faulty electrical wiring caused the fire. They estimated damage at around $10,000.
This was the second fire this week where fire crews had to deal with a home full of clutter as they worked to put out the flames. On Thursday, firefighters found clutter two feet deep as they fought a house fire in North Portland. They determined the clutter made the conditions too dangerous and fought the fire from the outside of the home.
Time for spring cleaning...We've done our den and one bedroom. Now...onto another area of the house.
Â
This fire result is exactly why we get rid of stuff, so that if there was a house fire, the fighters won't be stonewalled or have issues with coming into the home to protect what we have.Â
@washcomom Spring cleaning!?!? Either you are awful early, late, or I hibernated and missed New Years! (not that I care about new years, but my wife would hang me out to dry if I forget Feb14th!).
Seriously, though, I understand what you mean. If, in the middle of the night, your electrical system decides to go south and you wake up to the smoke detector screaming, you don't want to be tripping over a bunch of crap in the dark and smoke trying to get everyone out. Even in the best of times I hate clutter in my front room. I have to go through the f.r. to get to the kitchen, where the coffee pot is. I don't open my eyes before 1st cup of coffee. Thank God for a coffee maker with a settable brewing time so I can set it up the night before! I hate tripping over stuff before I wake up.
I work tirelessly to keep a neat and clutter free home. Â Takes at least 1-2 hours a day to maintain. Â The main advantage to such a clean and dust free home is that my entire household has not been sick for 3 years straight.
Â
It is not as easy as it sounds people. Â It's quite easy to let your possessions get the best of you.
Â
Â
This has been interesting to read your comments. We are fairly neat and clean people, but we are empty nesters in a 4,500 foot house. I can feel embarrassed when I consider the mass sum of our belongings. Thanks to this Column I am doing something about it.
If you have ever known a horder you know it is a true sickness. There a a lot more people out there like that than you can imagine. Me I would like a house as stark as a motel room with only the addition of family photos.
 @Luckylucy  I really wonder about this hording illness as possibly only being a first-world problem... Especially is a culture where stuff has replaced the emphasis on community and extended family connections and interactions fulfillment.
They still fared better than the Clutter family...
So KATU: Anybody home? Who owns the house? Who lived there? You're missing one of the five W's â as usual.
 @Old29 who, what, where, when , why....Â
"No Trespassing" sign on the front. These hoarders actually think (if they think at all) Â that somebody really wants their junk. Pathetic.
 @Old29 Hoarding, paranoia, and a lot of other things can interweave in some unusual braids of behavior.
 @Old29 Posting a "No Trespassing" sign is no doubt an attempt to try to feel like they have control over their surroundings, and also a hope that people will stay away - not because they fear somebody "wants their junk," but because of the shame they feel at the condition of their house. And people who hoard are frequently above average in intelligence, creativity, and sensitivity, so - yes - they do think. Educate yourself, or you may be the one to appear pathetic.
i envy the person who can live out of a backpack for i look around my place and see the burden of possessions. once you acquire an item it becomes a part of your being and it is hard to let go. Â a truck camper is like a backpack with limited space to stay free of possessions. we live not in houses but "stuff warehouses" with a kitchen and a bathroom.Â
 @32jim2 What you do with stuff you want to let go of but find it hard to , is: take a photo of it and upload to computer with a  little  paragraph or sentence story about it. Then sell/donate/gift/etc. the item. You still get to look at it anytime you want via the photos, and you have the little story about it written down, so you have kept all the "part of your being" meaning with you and that is what it's really about.  You won't feel "empty"...you will feel liberated from being a curator of the actual object. Try it with a couple of things and see how it works for you.Â
 @32jim2 Ross Perot once said a house is just a box full of stuff with a lid on it. Since my kids moved out the wife and I have been donating by the truck load over the last couple of years with the ultimate goal of only having what we need. The results should be a clutter free life and a house that's easy to keep clean.
@JohnQ.Public So that was Perot? Thank you for the info. I had heard that before and wondered who said it. Kind of puts it all into perspective about how much crap we have that we THINK we need.
 @iamtroglodite Ross Perot is also quoted as saying, "if you get out and buy a lot of stuff--it's gonna break", and "Things just don't mean happiness." I often wonder what things would be like if he ever became President.
Â
Â
@32jim2 Ah, yes.I remember the day when moving consisted of throwing what I could into my bag and go. Before I got married it took longer to take a shower and brush my teeth than it did to pack all my stuff. Now, if I want to move, I'll have to hire the biggest uhaul and 3 people to help pack!
 @iamtroglodite  @32jim2 Time for a garage sale, or two or three... or Craigslist sales!
@whirledworld @iamtroglodite @32jim2 That would definately work: I get rid of our stuff, she would get rid of me, then I would be back to nothng. Thing is, we are far from hoarders, it is just the everyday crap that makes it harder to move. For instance, when I lived alone in the 60s, to me a well stocked kitchen was a small pot, a small pan and a spoon. Now we have stuff I don't even know what is used for. I know she uses this crap because I wash it when helping with the dishes but I am clueless.
I am guilty too though. I have a coat AND a sweater, a pair of shoes and a pair of good boots AND a pair of tennis shoes.
 @32jim2 I hear what you're saying, but it is possible to stay on top of things. Anymore, whenever I bring something new into my place, I take out a garbage bag full of possessions and take it to Goodwill. I removed four such bags of stuff yesterday. It's a good habit to get into.
 @felines99  @32jim2 consider the Salvation Army thrift stores  as a donation place as the proceeds fund emergency food boxes, etc. for the hungry and more.
 @whirledworld  @32jim2 Good idea, ww. Actually, I sometimes give my stuff to William Temple Thrift Store in NW Portland. They provide food boxes as well.