PORTLAND, Ore. — A former Elks Lodge in Northeast Portland was destroyed in a large fire early Thursday morning. Nobody was injured in the fire, Portland Fire & Rescue reported.
Rick Graves, public information officer for Portland Fire, said firefighters are familiar with the building, having responded to multiple fires there since the building closed in 2015. "I've been at this place seven times," Graves said.
Previous fires created large holes in the floors on every level of the building, making it unstable and dangerous for firefighters to enter. Due to the structural instability of the building and the fact that demolition of the building was scheduled to begin this month, Portland Fire took a defensive approach, hitting the building with three master streams of water from an elevated position and allowing it to burn out.
The building is made from "old, heavy timber," so the fire "will take awhile to extinguish," Graves said Thursday morning. "We'll let it take its course," he said.
Photos: Elks Lodge fire in Northeast Portland
Firefighters responded around 2 a.m. Thursday to reports of a fire at the former lodge, located in the area of Northeast 100th Avenue and Irving Street, just north of Glisan Street. When they arrived, they found heavy fire coming from the roof. The roof and walls of the building eventually collapsed.
Initial reports indicated people were running from the burning building, but firefighters didn't find that to be the case when they arrived. They forced doors open to make sure there wasn't anyone inside trying to get out, but nobody exited the building.
After a couple hours, with much of the fire out, Portland Fire dropped to two master streams to stop any large flames from starting up again and let the fire in the building burn out.
No injuries were reported. Portland Fire did not report the cause of the fire.
The 12,582-square-foot building, located on a five-acre lot in Portland's Gateway neighborhood, was built in 1975. It closed in 2015.