Pendleton house fire displaces two, no injuries reported
Six units stopped a Pendleton house fire at its origin, but two residents still were displaced and Red Cross help was called in.
Fire crews kept a Pendleton house fire from spreading beyond the point where it started Monday night, April 14, but two residents still lost their home for the night after the blaze damaged the structure in the 3300 block of Southwest Ladow Avenue. Pendleton Fire and Ambulance sent six units, including one from the Umatilla Tribal Fire Department, and no injuries were reported. Chief Tony Pierotti said the fire was stopped at the area where it started, a quick containment that likely prevented a much larger loss.
Even with the flames contained, the home sustained heat and smoke damage and the displacement immediately became a housing problem as well as a fire response. Pendleton Fire and Ambulance is a full-service department led by Pierotti and staffed by 24 career personnel plus reserve staff, and it also provides fire protection under contract to nearby districts and properties. The Umatilla Tribal Fire Department, meanwhile, provides all-hazards emergency services to the Umatilla Indian Reservation and surrounding areas, which helps explain why mutual aid can move quickly when a residential fire breaks out in Eastern Oregon.
For Union County residents facing a similar fire, the fastest recovery step is to contact the American Red Cross. The organization serves Oregon and Southwest Washington through four chapters and hundreds of local volunteers, and it says people affected by a home fire can call 1-800-RED-CROSS, or 1-800-733-2767, any time for help with disaster relief, emergency shelter and related recovery support.
The cause of the Pendleton fire had not been reported, but the outcome followed a familiar pattern for house fires across the region: the structure was saved, the occupants were not hurt, and a routine evening turned into an urgent search for temporary housing. Pendleton Fire and Ambulance answers more than 4,600 calls for service in a typical year, a reminder of how quickly local departments can be stretched when one house fire turns into a cross-agency recovery effort.
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