Portland Fire Responds to Commercial Fire with Hazardous Materials Burning (PHOTOS)

Fire officials say in spite of the intensity, there were no civilian or firefighter injuries, nor any environmental damage.

Photos courtesy: Justin de Ruyter/Portland Fire & Rescue

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - Portland Fire & Rescue crews responded to a commercial fire this afternoon at Energy Material & Recovery Incorporated located at 11535 North Force Avenue.

The fire was dispatched at 12:05 p.m. with initial reports of a fuel storage tank on fire with possible explosions, according to Portland Fire & Rescue Spokesman Justin de Ruyter.

"At 1207 hours, fire crews requested a second-alarm assignment in addition to Portland Fire's Hazardous Materials Team based on the visible smoke column, reports of heavy fire from witnesses, and potential severity with the types of fuels located on the premise."

de Ruyter says that around 12:10 p.m., the first-arriving engine company reported heavy fire with flames over 50' in height burning next to four large vertical oil storage tanks.

"Crews were able to quickly deploy high volume hose lines onto the fire with the main concern being to keep the fire away from the large storage tanks, and keeping the fuels inside those tanks cool enough so that they would also not ignite. It was later determined that the storage tanks each contained 25,000 gallons of used crankcase oil that in the process of being recycled."

Portland Fire crews were successful in quickly knocking down the fire even though the insulation around the 25,000 gallon tanks was burning.

de Ruyter said, "Because of the quick actions of company personnel and fire fighters on-scene, the fire was quickly knocked down before it had an opportunity to spread into the used oil stored inside of the 25,000 gallon tanks."

It was later determined that the fire started while company personnel were refueling the diesel fuel mix tank used to provide fuel for the burner that heats up the used oil inside of the large storage tanks.

Portland Fire Investigator Rick McGraw says fumes from the diesel fuel mix reached the burner and ignited causing a vapor explosion.

"There was one individual near the burner when the fumes ignited, but fortunately was protected by a concrete wall. That individual was also able to quickly shut-off the flow of the diesel fuel mix to the burner which was no doubt one of the factors in keeping the fire to a relatively confined area."

The main fire that the crews had to deal with upon arrival was from the burning foam insulation surrounding the large fuel tanks, which burns much like gasoline when ignited, de Ruyter said.

"Fire crews did an excellent job at quickly attacking the fire with the large volume hose lines which kept the fires from growing any larger and spreading to other nearby fuels. This fire was a very close to becoming a much larger fire. Had the used oil inside of the large tanks caught on fire, the fire would have been much more severe."

He says it is not uncommon for large storage tank fires to last for many hours or even days. There would have also been the need to order complete evacuations within at least 1/2 mile of the incident, including an evacuation of the Expo Center.

"Portland Fire & Rescue would also like to thank the Port of Portland Fire for their quick response and assistance. Upon hearing of the incident, the Port of Portland Fire immediately dispatched one of their crash rescue fire apparatus with heavy foam capabilities. If the oil inside of the large tanks would have ignited, there would have been a great need for that foam resource from the Port of Portland Fire."

de Ruyter says fortunately, there were no civilian or firefighter injuries, nor any environmental damage. There is no damage estimate available at this time, but is believed to be fairly minimal.