Shin Shin food factory a total loss after grease fire, still smoldering
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – When a four-alarm fire erupted Monday afternoon inside the Shin Shin food factory in North Portland, smoke could be seen billowing high into the air for miles.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the building is a total loss. Fire crews were rotated in and out all night to keep the fire’s hot spots from re-igniting, but are allowing the remaining smoke to burn itself out. One of the building’s walls has since collapsed.
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Officials determined the flames came from a grease fire that quickly spread to the roof of the building where other flammables fueled the fire into the night. At its peak, nearly 100 Portland firefighters battled the inferno.
No injuries were reported, but the fire did force neighboring workers to escape the danger.
“As soon as we came out, we saw a little bit of smoke, but then it started bursting into flames right as we started pulling the cars out, so we grabbed all the keys we could and really just rushed out,” Guillaume Sauton, the owner of Auto Style, said.
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Lt. Rick Graves with Portland Fire and Rescue said the owner was distraught when he heard the news about the building.
“He’s got his business. He’s watching it burn in front of him,” Graves said. “One of the first things he said to me is, ‘I have 65 employees that depend on this location.’”
The building was a century old when it was engulfed in flames, and officials said it did not have a sprinkler system — though it was not required.
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The workers who were inside of the building at the time of the fire said they first tried to fight the grease fire, which started in a cooking hood, with extinguishers, but it grew quickly due to the huge vats of oil used in commercial noodle making.
The workers rushed out, and many left their personal items behind.
Meanwhile, nearby businesses did not suffer any damage, but several have made complaints of smoke in the air. Some buildings have installed air purifiers, but many workers have decided to go home.
During the grease fire at the noodle factory, crews also responded to two other fires Monday afternoon. One was at the Metro Waste Transfer Facility in North Portland at about 5:45 p.m. and the other hit an auto parts store around 6:30 p.m.
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