Portland Fire & Rescue responds to fires that start in homeless encampments often several times a day, according to data.
Some have been as small as a garbage fire, while others have been known to spread to homes.
“Our call volume does have an increased amount that is a result of some kind of emergency or crisis that is happening with our homeless population,” said Lt. Rich Chatman with Portland Fire & Rescue. “That’s a fact of life and we’ve just really come to understand that this is part of our job now.”
The FOX 12 Investigators requested data for fires started in homeless encampments from July 2017 to July 2019.
It showed Portland Fire & Rescue responded to more than 1,000 fires in those two years. It also showed they’re usually responding to these fires several times a day.