PORTLAND, Ore. — Investigators have determined that a three-alarm fire that heavily damaged the historic Roseway Theater earlier this month was triggered by an electrical accident, ruling out the possibility of arson.
Portland Fire & Rescue has completed its investigation and turned the scene over to private fire investigators, spokesman Sean Whalen said Monday.
The fire broke out on the morning of Aug. 6, and firefighters found the building already covered in black smoke when they were called to the Northeast Portland site just before 6 a.m.
Firefighters entered and began searching for the fire, but the floor began to collapse and flames spread to the roof, so the crews had to rely on aerial ladder trucks to extinguish the blaze from above. A third alarm was called, bringing a total of about 80 fire crew personnel to the scene.
The theater was closed and empty at the time of the fire, and there were no reported injuries or deaths.
On Monday, crews brought in a 160-ton crane to remove some of the overhead debris, allowing arson investigators to safely get inside and take a look. By early afternoon, investigators had concluded that the fire was accidental, the result of some form of electrical problem.
"Further analysis may be required to identify the specific failures which led to this tragedy," PF&R said, noting that the scene had been turned over to private fire investigators.
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There's still no definitive word about the extent of the damage or how long it might take the theater to reopen, although the PF&R public information officer, speaking to KGW on the day of the fire, said that based on what could be seen in aerial photos of the building "they would have to rebuild the whole structure."
A message on the Roseway Theater website as of Monday says only that it is "temp closed due to recent fire" and that moviegoers should stay tuned.
The theater at 7220 N.E. Sandy Blvd was built in 1924 and opened the following year. Several neighbors who stopped by to watch on the day of the fire expressed heartbreak at seeing the nearly century-old structure so heavily damaged.
"The Roseway Theater — it's a really special place to me and my son. We've come here many times," Randall Hobson said at the time. "It's such a neighborhood kind of place ... it wasn't a big mega theater where we have six films playing. It was just one thing — and it just had such heart."
