'Extreme clutter' hampers efforts to fight house fire
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PORTLAND, Ore. - A man was injured late Wednesday night when the second floor of his home went up in flames.
Fire crews say the extreme clutter they found in the home made it harder and more dangerous for them to extinguish the flames.
The fire happened around 11 p.m. at a home in the 2900 block of Southeast Berkeley Place.
When firefighters arrived, smoke was visible and when they went inside they discovered that the fire appeared to have started in a bedroom. Flames had then spread throughout the second floor.
A man at the home ended up with burn injuries and was taken to the hospital. The extent of his injuries is not known at this time, but he was conscious when he was loaded into an ambulance.
Portland firefighters say they average at least one call a month where they deal with a fire at the home where people have lots of clutter in their homes.
Such people have been called “hoarders” in TV shows and elsewhere, although firefighters say they prefer the phrase “extreme clutter” so people aren’t stigmatized in these emotional situations.
“We have a fairly high incidence of homes with fires that involve this kind of clutter,” said fire bureau spokesman Lt. Rich Chatman.
In this case, a neighbor said the homeowner was going through a rough time and had stopped getting water and garbage service.
“We tried to get the social service agencies involved and haven’t been successful,” neighbor Phil Stanford said. “This is the third fire in the last few years here in this house.”
“Some of the interior crews had reported encountering a lot of clutter and making it difficult to get to that second floor,” said Chatman.
More information on hoarding can be found at the International OCD Foundation website.
i use own a house on that street...that house was always in a rundown state....even way before he became unemployed...there are only 14 houses on that street, the address is consider to be east moreland....home price are all over half a mill.
Extreme clutter? Why not call it what it is, a house full of flammable junk! Let it burn itself out. The homeowner will be happy to have all the crap gone!Â
sounds like he most likely doesn't have fire insurance if he can't afford water bills. guess the neighbors will get to enjoy this burnt up house for many months or years to come.
Smoking in Bed maybe? or the baseboard heater was covered with something that caught fire? those are the two most common fires in a bedroom.
Get well soon.
Interesting architecture... for a home.
I wish the man a full recovery. My heart goes out to any burn victim. I hope he has close friends and family to support him through this.
Fire bad
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@Dr. Rawdog @TheUglyTruth It does'nt say how it started, just that it was on the second floor. How could it be an Occu-tard? I don't think they climb, they just set on the sidewalk and pee in the streets.