Portland resident pleads for help after homeless set massive fires next door
Portland resident Jacob Adams says squatters living next door have set five fires, causing propane tanks to 'go off' just feet from his house. Adams says he's since bought fire extinguishers to keep his own home from catching fire.
Jacob Adams issued an emotional plea for help from Portland, Oregon officials after being terrorized by homeless people repeatedly setting massive fires directly next to his home.
"I love Portland and I love where I live," Adams said on "Fox & Friends" Monday. "I'm asking you to please do something, so the people of the city feel safe."
The once-vacant house next door to Adams’ home is now occupied by squatters. Adams said he’s had to make multiple calls to the fire department and now keeps fire extinguishers on-hand to keep his home from catching fire.
"This is the fifth fire like this or worse on this house," he said.
Adams said the fires have caused propane tanks to "go off" just feet from where he was standing.
And while he praised the police for their "wonderful" response, he said their hands are tied.
"The property owner won't call the police and trespass the squatters. So when I call, there's nothing that they can do," he said. "It just falls on deaf ears."
Jacob Adams says fires from the next door homeless encampment are a common occurrence (Fox 12 Oregon)
Armand Martens, a veteran who lives nearby, said he felt safer walking the streets of Saigon during the Vietnam War than he does in his own neighborhood.
Martens said he feels like the city’s policies are enabling the homeless population.
Adams agreed.
"This is happening because the people of Portland, Oregon, have voted for policies that promote things like fires next to my home," he said.
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Adams said he no longer calls the police when he hears gunshots because they happen so frequently.
But Adams maintained that every person, regardless of who they are or the crises they’re dealing with, deserves to be treated with love and respect.
"I want to love this city," he said. "It seems like no matter what happens, in the last five years, Portland has just gone exponentially worse."
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Despite the current state of his neighborhood, Adams said there’s always hope for positive change.
"I am seeing progress, but the problem is, is the people that are living [next door] aren't being moved out," he said.
"So I have hope that things are being done it’s just -- Is it going to get to the point where my home actually catches on fire?"
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