Operations & Training

OR Firefighters Tackle Blaze in Vacant Church

Jan. 4, 2023

Portland crews worried about the building collapsing as it sits next to a streetcar line.

By Austin De Dios

Source oregonlive.com (TNS)

Firefighters were worried about the structure collapsing.

A fire at a downtown building that once housed Portland Korean Church sent clouds of smoke billowing over Southwest 10th Avenue and Clay Street on Tuesday evening.

The three-story former church building experienced another fire in September 2020. The congregation sold the building in 2015, and it has been vacant.

Firefighters with Portland Fire & Rescue said they don’t believe anyone was inside, and a fire at an adjacent building was quickly extinguished. Their biggest concern has been preventing the collapse of the building, which sits next to a Portland Streetcar line.

— Austin De Dios; [email protected]