Fire Causes Partial Roof Collapse at Oregon Textile Factory

A fire caused extensive damage to a textile manufacturing facility in Portland early Monday, officials said.

The first reports of the blaze came in around 3:30 a.m. Monday at a commercial building in southeast Portland, said Lt. Liz Thompson, a spokeswoman for Portland Fire & Rescue told The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Arriving firefighters saw flames coming from the second story of the building and started fight the blaze from the inside, Thompson said.

They soon exited after seeing the roof becoming unstable and were outside when it partially collapsed, she said.

The Portland Garment Factory, a small textile manufacturing business that changed course and began making masks in 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic took hold, was housed inside.

A nearby apartment building was evacuated, Thompson said, and the Red Cross was helping residents find accommodations.

Fire officials said they were mopping up the fire around 7 a.m.

More than 70 firefighters worked on the fire at its peak. No injuries were reported, and the cause was under investigation.

Fire officials asked any witnesses with information to call 503-823-INFO.

Topics Oregon Manufacturing