Portland fire crews extinguish warehouse blaze near Hawthorne Bridge
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Multnomah County is assessing the damage and functionality of its bridge operations center after a fire took a significant toll at the facility.
The building near Hawthorne Bridge had succumbed to the fire just after 6 p.m. Tuesday night and was quickly put out by Portland Fire and Rescue.
Hours after the fire was put out, Multnomah County released a statement saying the building that was damaged was their bridge maintenance and operations center, the County Bridge Shop, which sustained damage from smoke, fire, and water.
Though the blaze is still being investigated, it is believed to have originated from a mechanical fire that occurred when “equipment on a water tanker parked in a garage bay malfunctioned and became engulfed,” the press release said.
There were no injuries but PF&R did note a lone maintenance employee was on site, evaluated for any medical concerns and then released with no issues.
Margi Bradway, the county’s director of community services, released the following statement about the incident:
“We’re grateful for Portland Fire’s quick response and that no one was injured. We’ll be assessing damage and working to ensure bridge operations are fully restored.”
PF&R officials said that a crew at a nearby fire station heard the explosion and rushed to the east end of the bridge.
The fire department made the public aware of the fire just after 6 p.m. via social post on X (formerly Twitter).
The fire department went on to describe the black smoke that came “pushing out under pressure from all roll-up bay doors.” They proceeded to cut a chain-link fence to gain entry to the building and directed water supply for the arriving engine.
By 6:45 p.m., PF&R said the fire had been “completely extinguished.”
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Despite the flames subsiding, six fire companies remained on the scene to clean up and “evaluate inventory within the warehouse with the staff on site.” Officials said that the building had significant damage.
The fire severely charred an industrial vehicle. The flames were said to be prominent “throughout the structure” before it was put out.
The County Bridge Shop is the maintenance and operations center for all six Willamette River bridges as well as 22 smaller bridges. The structure is also the workplace of county engineers who design, build and maintain the bridges.
A total of 60 firefighters arrived in multiple engines and tucks to respond to the fire, which occurred at 1403 SE Water Avenue at 6:04 p.m.
In addition to firefighters in the nearby Fire Station 21 hearing the explosion, a bridge operated also called 911 about the fire and a passerby even pounded on the door of the station, pointing to the smoke blocks away. The majority of the fire and hotspots were extinguished within 20 minutes.
This story is developing. KOIN 6 News will have more information as soon as it becomes available.
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