A commercial building in Southeast Portland collapsed as firefighters were battling down a large blaze early Friday.
Portland Fire and Rescue crews first responded to the significant, four-alarm fire near Southeast 9th Avenue and Southeast Alder Street around 12:30 a.m. Firefighters say when they arrived, they saw flames bursting out of the windows.
Around 2:30 a.m., the building partially collapsed in the midst of the firefighting efforts. By the time the sun rose, the majority of the structure had fallen. Crews focused on exterior attacks due to the severity of the flames inside. Officials say they know this site well — as they’ve responded to multiple fires at the building in the past.
“We’re very familiar with this building,” PFR’s Rob Garrison said. “We know it’s very dangerous so we did not enter the building.”