Portland Fire & Rescue responded to 3 separate commercial fires during the afternoon and early evening hours Monday. The first, and most significant fire, was dispatched out at 4:04. This fire was located at the Shin Shin Foods commercial operation. There was an additional fire at the Metro Waste Transfer Facility that was dispatched at 5:43 PM along with a commercial fire at a auto parts store being dispatched at 6:29 PM. There were no reported injuries at any of these fires.
The fire at the Shin Shin Noodle factory eventually elevated to a 4th alarm assignment placing nearly 100 firefighters on scene working at extinguishing the flames. This fire was elevated to a 2nd alarm before anyone had arrived with the closest Battalion Chief requesting a second alarm assignment as they crossed the Willamette River on the Broadway Bridge because of the size of the smoke column with heavy dark smoke twisting as it rose from the building. The first arriving crews were able to connect to a hydrant and stretch hose 15’ to 20’ on the interior of the building but the fire grew too large, and they were forced to withdraw, bringing all their tools and hoses with them as they left the building. At this point, there was fire throughout the 100-year-old 26000 sq. ft building with fire and smoke pushing out through cracks in the external brick walls. The command officer declared that all companies were to prepare themselves for a defensive operation with many large bore hose lines applying water into any opening that included the roof areas that had been burned off by the fire.
Truck crews extended their ladders while engine companies hooked up to fire hydrants and supplied the trucks with water. The location of this building along with the need for significant amount of water posed a bit of a challenge for the crews and multiple engines were being used to pump the water through thousands of feet of hose to get to the tip of the nozzle and then placed onto the fire. At one point, one of the aerial ladders was lowered to the ground level and was flowing nearly 2000 gallons a minute alone into the structure.
Early in the fire there was a concern for the structural stability of the building. With the roof completely burned off and cracks in the exterior walls, the command officer directed all members to work outside of any potential collapse zone, which is 1 ½ times the height of the wall. During this worktime, the fire growth was slowed but the inability to get water to locations on fire due to internal walls and the positions of the hoses outside. This large warehouse was a noodle manufacturing company with lots of flammables stored closely within the building allowing for easy fire growth. As the fire was slowly growing and the crews working for extended lengths of time, the command officer called for a 3rd and 4th alarm assignments to have enough members on scene to perform the required work needed but have a chance to go to rehab and return to the task after a short break.
While crews were actively addressing the fire at the noodle warehouse, a commercial fire was dispatched to the Metro Waste Transfer Facility located in N. Portland. Crews arrived to find a large pile of trash and waste on fire. They worked to extinguish the flames and were able to release crews not needed when the third fire of the evening hit. This 3rd fire turned to be a very small incident if anything but at one time there were 3 active fires going on with one at a 4th alarm response level. PF&R called 8 members back in to work to upstaff two engines to address this depletion of our available workforce throughout the city. There was also the addition of 3 chiefs to the fleet of available members, so the city remained safely covered during this extended incident.
The fire at Shin Shin was reported to have been a grease fire that started in the elevated commercial size hood vent. PF&R Fire Investigations Unit will work with the owner’s representative in the investigation process. The fire at Metro is undetermined currently. The final fire was a non-incident with nothing to investigate. There were no reported injuries, and all employees of the noodle factory were safely able to exit the structure uninjured.
Portland Fire would like to thank the dispatchers and staff at BOEC for their assistance throughout all these calls. PF&R also appreciates the assistance from Pacific Power and Northwest Natural in assuring the utilities were shut down and reducing any danger to those working around the building. At one point, after the power had been cut by the lineman, the fire burned through an elevated powerline which fell to the ground near a crowd of firefighters working. The Portland Water Bureau was able to increase the water pressure in the main serving the 4th alarm fire which allowed our aerial master streams and many ground level hand lines to operate successfully. Thank you to the Logistics Section of Portland Fire & Rescue as multiple Emergency Vehicle Technicians responded to the scene to ensure the rigs would safely operate throughout the duration of the fire. Lastly, PF&R would like to acknowledge the assistance of ODOT in monitoring the smoke concentration in the southbound lanes of I5 to ensure the safety of the evening commuters.
Source: Portland Fire & Rescue