The City of Portland is currently home to three buildings over 500 feet. They include the 546 foot Wells Fargo Center, the 536 foot US Bancorp Tower, and the 509 foot KOIN Center.

The US Bancorp Tower has 42 floors and close to 740,000 square feet of office space. The tower opened in 1983, and has been affectionately nicknamed “Big Pink” due to its unusual pinkish color. If there is an emergency incident in or around the tower, Portland firefighters from Station 1 (Downtown Central) are the first to respond because of their close proximity.

In mid-January, Station 1 firefighters were offered the opportunity to conduct highrise fire training on the unoccupied 29th floor of the US Bancorp Tower.

Fires in highrise buildings such as the Tower generally require more complicated operational approaches than most structure fires and it’s important to practice strategies and tactics firefighters will employ to perform safely and effectively during a highrise fire.

The training was held over three days and took significant preparation, not only by the firefighters, but by Unico Properties LLC. Unico Properties LLC is a real estate investment and operating company.

During the drill, firefighters focused on fire attack, staging, lobby control, highrise tactics and scenarios, and elevator use in highrise fires.  Training opportunities such as this help your firefighters to reinforce response to unique and complex emergencies in highrise buildings.

  Portland Fire & Rescue