Portland Fire & Rescue responds to pallet recycling facility fire

Published 9:49 am Friday, July 5, 2024

Nearly 75 firefighters responded to a fire around 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 4, in the Cully Neighborhood, near Whitaker Ponds Natural Area in Northeast Portland. 

Portland Fire & Rescue responded to what ended up being a three-alarm fire when an external fire at a pallet recycling location extended into many large piles of pallets, then reaching into the home structure which doubled as the business office. 

There were no injuries reported and the fire is under investigation. The fire was reduced and under control within an hour. 

An initial command officer directed crews to capture all close hydrants, due to the assumption the fire would large and need copious amounts of water to extinguish.

The first arriving battalion chief quickly called a two-alarm fire upon arrival, according to a press release. Firefighters were removed from inside the structure, as a large volume of fire filled the structure and pallets pushed flames nearly 30 feet in the air. 

After a Personal Accountability Report was called — a call to be certain all members working on scene were accounted for — there was a partial structural collapse of the building. 

As the breeze got stronger, a three-alarm fire was called, bringing in more responders which were placed in divisions to better control safety. 

Four aerial ladder trucks pushed 1,200 to 2,000 gallons of water per minute to the structure and piles of pallets. The Port of Portland responded with a specialized rig and dumped its 300-gallon tank onto the fire in about two minutes.