Portland homeless turn abandoned Kmart into temporary shelter, sparking fiery disaster

Oregon Live

An abandoned Kmart store in Portland, Oregon, turned into a fiery spectacle on Wednesday, as authorities reported a massive fire engulfing the premises.

The store had become a temporary haven for homeless vagrants. Portland Fire Bureau spokesperson Rick Graves raised eyebrows with his statement, asserting that the inevitable inferno was foreseeable given the store's unfortunate use by the homeless, the Post Millennial reports.

"We know this structure," Graves asserted. "We've known this has been vacant for some time … [with] people gaining occupancy and using it as their home."

City authorities are facing a barrage of complaints from concerned residents living near a certain building. The grievances center around issues of accessibility, as well as the troubling presence of homeless individuals, and the accumulation of trash and debris.

The most recent complaint, lodged on July 6, was the tipping point that triggered an ongoing city inspection. With tensions rising, residents are eagerly awaiting the results of this investigation to see if their concerns will finally be addressed.

🚨#BREAKING: Multiple Firefighters are Battling Massive Fire at a Abandoned Kmart Building

📌#Portland | #Oregon

Currently, multiple firefighters are actively engaged in combating a substantial four-alarm fire that has erupted at an abandoned Kmart store in Portland, Oregon.… pic.twitter.com/eK1ACiA8Wi

— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) July 19, 2023

As of now, there is uncertainty regarding whether anyone was trapped inside the building when the fire erupted on Wednesday morning. Fortunately, according to authorities, there are no reported injuries known to have occurred as a result of the incident.

Wednesday morning saw firefighters successfully gaining control of the blaze, but not without facing significant challenges. According to Graves, the "major challenge" in their efforts to control the fire was the scarcity of water supply in the vicinity, owing to a surprising lack of water hydrants in the area, as reported by the outlet.

Laurel McAfee, a 67-year-old resident living nearby, shared with reporters that her home's yard was strewn with ash.

"It was bizarre," McAfee said of the fire. "Well, it’s not bizarre because that thing has been a friggin’ eyesore."

"There’s just ash everywhere," she explained. "Reminds me of the Fourth of July."

Recalling the startling event, McAfee described how the initial "boom" was so thunderous that she initially thought it might have been a car colliding with a building.