3 minutes

Dennis Katsnelson

The fire department received an emergency call about a house fire in the 17600 block of Northeast Couch Street. The caller also mentioned the possibility of people being trapped inside the burning house.

Portland Fire Rescue was the first to arrive on scene and found the front and back of the house engulfed in heavy flames. Shortly thereafter, Gresham firefighters joined the firefighters, who immediately entered the house to search for possible victims.

According to Mike Traeger, Battalion Chief of the Gresham Fire Department, "We searched the building, found one casualty and pulled him out of the building. Unfortunately, the man pulled from the house later died of his injuries at a nearby hospital. The identity of the victim has not yet been released.

Trager also reported that a married couple was living in the home at the time of the incident. Due to the seriousness of the fire, a second alarm was raised and additional forces were called in to assist in extinguishing the flames. In addition, a freestanding building with living quarters above it, located at the rear of the property, caught fire.

The cause of the fire remains unknown at this time, and fire investigators are working to determine the origin and cause of the fire. The incident has left residents in shock and mourning, and authorities are asking anyone with information to report the incident and assist in the investigation.

We took this video from KPTV FOX 12 Oregon YouTube Channel.