Flames were spreading from the front to the back of a house just north of Five Corners when the chirp of a smoke alarm jolted 14-year-old Jenny Neang awake early Wednesday morning.
Jenny, who lived in the one-story house with five family members, went from her bedroom to the living room, which faced out toward the 9000 block of Northeast 91st Street. Heavy smoke clouded her view, but she said she could see fire. It was moving fast.
She ran out the back door and called 911. Jenny said she informed an emergency dispatcher that her younger brother was still inside.
“I knew he had to get out. Someone ran in and pulled him out,” Jenny said. She did not know the identity of the rescuer. She said she thinks it was a neighbor.
Before the rescue, the dispatcher had directed Jenny to take action to save her brother, according to Vancouver Fire Department Capt. Dave James. Jenny said she was instructed to throw a rock through a window to get him out.
Firefighters generally advise people to not re-enter burning structures for any reason, but the boy was in a spot that would have been difficult to reach by the time responders arrived, James said.
“A dispatcher with years of experience recognized how dangerous the situation was. It was the right choice,” he said.
Fire crews were dispatched at 4:38 a.m. to 9012 N.E. 91st St., when the first of many concerned callers reported the ongoing emergency.
It took about 40 minutes for firefighters to get the blaze under control, James said. The house and its contents, as well as two vehicles, were destroyed.
The first engine to respond could see a smoke column three to four blocks from the house, so additional units were requested before it even arrived at the address, James said. That initial crew quickly used a large, 2½-inch hose to douse the fire from the home’s front lawn to prevent it from spreading to two nearby residences, he said.
Firefighters continued to battle the flames from outside until it was safe enough to go inside, James said.
A woman suffered smoke inhalation and some burns. She was taken to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland for treatment, according to the fire captain.
Jenny said her grandmother, mother and brother were inside when the fire started. They all made it out and are doing OK, she said. The family was resting in a neighbor’s home across the street around 8 a.m.
Several hours after responders extinguished the blaze, fire personnel and vehicles clogged 91st Street.
The north side of Jenny’s house had nearly collapsed. All that remained of the interior were charred structural struts and piles of ash. A firefighter used a small shovel to dig through debris just behind still-standing pieces of a white plastic porch railing.
The south side of the house suffered less damage but was also largely destroyed. Two vehicles inside a garage were covered in soot and warped from heat.
A Clark County fire marshal was at the scene, gripping a clipboard and interviewing people.
Siding on one of the neighboring houses had melted, but the fire did not spread to other properties.
“Our house is fine. There was no wind so that was lucky,” Carl Gorejer said.
Gorejer’s phone rang about 4:45 a.m. A neighbor warned him about the fire and advised him to get outside. Once he had done so, he saw Jenny standing at the corner of her driveway, and her family members darting around the property. They had all escaped the fast-moving fire, Gorejer said.
“It’s devastating. They have a big family,” he said.
Jenny said the family is uncertain about what to do next. She said they lost everything.
“We’re still in shock,” she said.
