GRESHAM, Ore. (Aug. 11)—A fire at Northwest Retreaders in Gresham remains under investigation after causing heavy damage to one building, fire officials said.
The fire started at 3:44 p.m. on Aug. 7 and quickly escalated to a four-alarm blaze, according to the local fire department. Raw rubber on pallets plus carbon black caught fire, the department said. The fire was outside in a storage yard and adjacent to buildings as well as in a rail car full of finished tires.
The fire was extinguished by 4 a.m. Aug. 8 after firefighters applied more than 3,000 gallons of a foam and water mix to smother the flames.
Operations Chief Scott Lewis at the department said two of the three buildings at the site were uninvolved, and the fire was contained outside the third though it suffered damage. He provided no damage estimates.