Firefighters quickly snuff fire at Reed commercial laundry

With fire alarms sounding on Saturday, May 25, workers at the Alsco American Industrial Division plant on S.E. 26th Avenue near Steele Street, evacuated the commercial laundry building.

Because it was classified as a “commercial fire”, numerous Portland Fire & Rescue (PF&R) units from four different stations responded at 7:06 p.m., ready if necessary to fight a major blaze.

Westmoreland Fire Station 20’s Engine Company crew headed in the front door, while other firefighters were directed to an area behind the building.

“Actually, the fire was behind the building; rags in a large bin were on fire, producing lots of smoke,” a PF&R lieutenant later told THE BEE. “The fire was put out with an engine’s on-board water supply, and the fire didn’t extend inside the building.”

By 8 p.m. that evening, the incident was over and the units had all returned to their respective stations, having kept a relatively small fire from turning into a big one.