On Wednesday morning, a massive fire completely ravaged the interior of an old Kmart building
located near Northeast 122nd Avenue and Northeast Sandy Boulevard in Portland.
Around 6:30 a.m., firefighters swiftly responded to the blaze. Rick Graves, the public information officer for Portland Fire & Rescue, informed KGW that an officer,
who happened to be leaving a training yard across the street from the abandoned Kmart building, spotted the fire and immediately called for backup.
Portland Fire & Rescue encountered several challenges during their response.
The limited hydrants in the area posed difficulty for the crews, necessitating pumping from distant hydrants.
Additionally, an 8-foot-tall fence and cement blocks along Northeast 122nd Avenue, intentionally placed by the property's owner to restrict parking lot access, presented another hurdle.
To gain entry, firefighters had to cut through locks on the fence and employ a winch to move some of the barriers.
The agency also expressed concerns about embers potentially landing in the neighborhood and igniting additional fires.
Nevertheless, the fire did not spread, and no other fires erupted.