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Portland's fire chief and fire commissioner are meeting today to discuss potential discipline for Fire Capt. Robert Hutchens, who pleaded guilty Monday to driving under the influence of intoxicants while off duty on March 29 in Clatsop County. Hutchens must serve 15 days in jail, and started a five-day jail stint on Monday, according to court records.

(Dave Killen/The Oregonian)

A Portland fire captain convicted of driving drunk in a crash in Clatsop County is serving his first five-day stint behind bars of a 15-day jail sentence and will face discipline at work.

Portland Fire Capt. Robert Hutchens, who also serves as a volunteer firefighter in his hometown of Forest Grove, pleaded guilty Monday to driving under the influence of intoxicants, reckless driving and second-degree criminal mischief stemming from an off-duty accident on March 29, according to Clatsop County court records.

It marks Hutchens' third DUII arrest since 2006.

Robert C. Hutchens, a Portland fire captain and a Forest Grove volunteer firefighter, has started to serve his first five-day stint behind bars of a 15-day jail sentence after pleading guilty Monday to driving under the influence of intoxicants, reckless driving and criminal mischief.

On Monday, Clatsop County Circuit Judge Cindee Matyas sentenced Hutchens to the jail term to be served five days at a time. His first round started Monday and the next two are set to start March 13 and April 21.

After jail, Hutchens must be on electric monitoring for 60 days if he's eligible. He'll be allowed to leave his home to go to work and attend treatment. He'll be on probation for two years, and his driver's license will be suspended for one year.

Fire Chief Erin Janssens and City Commissioner Dan Saltzman, who oversees the Fire Bureau, are meeting Tuesday to talk about Hutchens' latest conviction.

"I'm sure we'll be disciplining him,'' Janssens said.

Hutchens most recently has been assigned to Station 13 at Northeast 10th Avenue and Weidler Street.

Saltzman said Hutchens isn't allowed to drive on the job, but didn't know if the Fire Bureau had disciplined Hutchens after his other convictions.

Hutchens now faces discipline ranging from suspension to dismissal, Saltzman said.

The most recent arrest stemmed from an accident on U.S. 26, which injured four people in a car that Hutchens struck after crossing the center line, according to court documents.

Hutchens was driving a 2008 Honda Accord eastbound when he crossed the center lane into oncoming traffic and collided with a Toyota Rav4. He was taken to the Seaside police department, and later cited and released. He had a blood-alcohol level of .12, above the .08 legal limit, according to an Oregon State Police report.

Police reports indicate he was driving two children who were not his own at the time of the accident, following a birthday party at his parents' house in Seaside. The officer noted Hutchens had an "overwhelming'' odor of alcohol on his breath, and his eyes were bloodshot and watery.

Asked at the scene how much he'd had to drink that day, Hutchens said, "Nothing,'' the police report states.

During on-scene questioning, Hutchens told the state trooper "numerous times'' that he was a firefighter and that he had asked other firefighters who responded to the crash about the occupants of the other vehicle struck, the report said. He refused to submit to a voluntary field sobriety test, told the trooper that he had a DUII before and said he was "worried,'' the report said.

Hutchens' wife was driving in another vehicle behind him at the time and took the children in her husband's car home.

Hutchens, whose car ended up in a ditch on the side of the road, was released to a sober adult, the police report said.

The driver of the Toyota and his wife suffered cuts and bruises, the report said. The two, as well as two other passengers in the Toyota, were taken by ambulance to a hospital, where they were treated and released.

Hutchens also was convicted in 2009 of driving under the influence of intoxicants in Yamhill County stemming from a Nov. 28, 2008, arrest in McMinnville. At that time, he was placed on probation for four years and had his driver's license suspended for one year.

Alan Ferschweiler, president of the Portland Firefighters' Association, said Hutchens' five-day jail stints were timed so he wouldn't have to take any vacation time or seek any further leave from the city.

--Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212; @maxoregonian