June 1, 2012

2:55 PM

At 11:54 am, Portland Fire & Rescue was dispatched to a commercial structure fire at a four-story concrete warehouse located at 2715 SE 8th Avenue.

Firefighters from Portland Fire Station 21 (Eastbank/Hawthorne) arrived first on scene to find smoke coming from the third floor of the abandoned building. The building, which is part of a complex of buildings that used to be part of the Darigold dairy and pet food manufacturing At facilities, was separated from Darigold in 1992 and is under different ownership. The building housed silos that were approximately 10' wide by 40' tall.

When firefighters got to the third floor, the staircase they were climbing began to shake and show signs of being compromised. Firefighters immediately began to back out of the building when one firefighter fell through a hole in the first floor. He was able to stop himself from falling through the floor with his arms and his crew pulled him out as they evacuated. He was not injured.

Firefighters immediately transitioned from an offensive attack to a defensive fire attack. Ladder trucks poured water onto the building from the outside.

The fire was brought under control at 3:00 pm and fire crews will stay on scene to monitor hot spots for the next couple of hours.

Construction workers were working inside the building at the time of the fire. Everyone inside escaped safely. Investigators are working to determine the cause of this fire. There are no damage estimates at this time. Although this building is next to the Darigold building where 11 workers were sickened during a HazMat incident on Wednesday, the incidents are unrelated.

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June 1, 2012

12:17 PM

At 11:54 am, Portland Fire & Rescue (PF&R) was dispatched to a commercial structure fire at a four-story concrete warehouse located at 2715 SE 8th Avenue.

A Public Information Officer is en-route. Media staging will be at SE 8th and Division.

Additional details will be posted as they become available.