Fire in Brentwood-Darlington ‘clutter house’ claims a life

Published 12:00 am Sunday, September 29, 2024

Several neighbors called the 9-1-1 Center when they saw flames erupting from a house at 7603 S.E. Flavel Street, early on Monday morning, August 27 – and, at 3:25 a.m., PF&R crews were dispatched to that home in the Brentwood-Darlington neighborhood.

First-arriving crews saw “heavy fire” in the single-family residence – and also, they noticed, the westerly property line fence was ablaze, with flames impinging on a second house. So, now fighting two house fires, the PF&R Battalion Chief in charge called for a “Second Alarm”, bringing additional rigs and crews to the scene.

First-alarm firefighters entered the first house and tried to extinguish the blaze, but found it burning too hot to remain inside – and pulled back, then shooting water into the structure from outside. Truck Company crews laddered up to the roof and cut holes to allow hot gasses and smoke to escape. Then, other firefighters were once again able to re-enter the house.

There, crew members reported over a handheld radio running into “hoarder conditions” which were slowing their search throughout the house. Not long after that, the interior firefighters came across a male victim, estimated to be in his 40s. They rushed him outside but, even using advanced life saving measures, the victim was declared dead at the scene.

In addition to being hindered by the clutter inside the house, crews also had to deal with downed live power lines outside – and, also, the nearest fire hydrant turned out to be out of service, so crews had to quickly move on to another hydrant 300 feet away.

Fire investigators spent the day sifting through charred remains of the structure and its contents seeking the location where the fire started, along with its cause. At last report, however, any conclusions they may have reached had not been publicly announced.