Portland Fire & Rescue investigators said Monday that a man died in Friday night's three-alarm fire that destroyed a Southeast Portland auto parts warehouse.
Investigators say the man's body was found inside the badly damaged building at about 11 a.m. June 10. New information led fire bureau officials to search for the man's body. Officials said Friday that they didn't think anyone was inside the building as it burned late into the night.
The man may have been using an area outside the building for temporary shelter, investigators said Monday. The state medical examiner will try to identify the body and determine how the man died.
It took dozens of firefighters to control a massive warehouse fire. Fire bureau officials said the fire was reported around 9:25 p.m. June 7, in the RJ Templeton Co. warehouse in the 2700 block of Southeast Long Street. Crews called for a third alarm eight minutes after the first alarm. Part of the warehouse roof collapsed almost immediately, giving firefighters easier access to fight the blaze inside because there were few windows.
Fire officials said crews aggressively fought the blaze on the east side of the building to stop the spread of the fire to nearby homes. Some of the homes and vehicles were damaged by the fire and heat.
By 11 p.m., the fire was mostly knocked down, but firefighters remained, pouring water from above. Firefighters stayed at the building overnight to watch for hotspots.
Social media posts said Dusty the warehouse cat was missing in the fire.
Loren Adams was crossing the Willamette River when he saw the fire and called 911. "We were probably 200 feet from the fire and it was pushing us away," Adams told KOIN 6 News. "We were too close."
Investigators are looking for the fire's cause. Anyone with any information about the fire should call the Fire Investigations Info Line, 503-823-4636.
KOIN 6 News is a news partner of the Portland Tribune. You can find the KOIN story here.