Portland fire crews contain massive warehouse inferno, investigation into cause underway

The massive warehouse fire that burned in northwest Portland on Sunday afternoon, engulfing the 116-year-old vacant warehouse in flames and preventing fire crews from entering the building due to structural damage, has been brought under control, KOIN 6 News reports.

The fire, which attracted crowds, was reported to have started on the first floor of the Centennial Mills warehouse just before 4 p.m., prompting more than 88 members of Portland Fire Rescue to respond as they joined neighbors in battling the inferno in and around the building.

“Fires just start to pop up on an empty lot quite a bit away from the actual fire,” said Alex Williamson, who works at a shelter next to the warehouse. “We started filling up trash cans, and I hopped the fence. My friends handed me the trash cans full of water, and we were just pouring it out, and we got the fire out.”

The fire department had originally deemed the building unsafe to enter due to structural damage and determined that all firefighting operations had to be conducted from the outside, KOIN 6 News reports. 

The fire remained active for several hours as thick black smoke billowed across the Portland skyline, prompting officials to urge residents to avoid the area. Authorities established a safety perimeter around the warehouse while crews continued to monitor the stability of the structure and extinguish remaining hot spots.

No injuries were immediately reported, though officials said the deteriorating condition of the building created significant challenges for firefighters throughout the response. Investigators are expected to determine the cause of the blaze once it is safe to access the site. The historic Centennial Mills complex has stood vacant for years and has long been the subject of redevelopment discussions, though no active construction was underway at the time of the fire.

The cause of the fire has not been revealed, FireHouse reports.