PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — A large fire broke out at the vacant Centennial Mills building in Portland’s Pearl District, with crews first responding sometime around 3:50 p.m. Sunday.
Portland Fire & Rescue reported at about 4 p.m. that crews were on-scene at the warehouse in the 1300 block of Northwest Naito Parkway near the Fremont Bridge, where “significant brown smoke” was “pushing out under pressure on all sides.” A second alarm was requested.
The agency said the warehouse was considered an unsafe building and that “no interior firefighting activity will occur,” with crews taking “only exterior defensive actions.”
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Portland Fire & Rescue later reported heavy fire throughout the warehouse and requested a third alarm.
The agency said plans were being put in place to establish safe positioning for firefighters because of concerns about a possible structural collapse.
GALLERY | Photos from inside the historic Centennial Mills building before it burned
There are reports of a grass fire adjacent the structure, on top of the large commercial fire, PF&R said.
The agency said it has requested for a complete shutdown of Naito Parkway.
A large fire broke out at a vacant warehouse in Portland on the 1300 block of Northwest Naito Parkway/Viewer-submitted photo by Joy White
PF&R spokesperson Rick Graves told KATU News around 5:30 p.m. that the warehouse seemed to be leaning inwards, and the agency hopes the building collapses inwards if a collapse were to happen, “but it may collapse outwards,” Graves said.
Graves also said the fire caused smaller fires in vegetation, trees and rooftops which are being addressed by firefighting crews.
The spokesperson reiterated that there will not be any interior firefighting because of dangerous conditions inside the warehouse.
The agency has not yet determined an exact cause for the fire. KATU News asked if there were any people inside, and Graves said that is currently unknown to the agency.
