Even before the Kearney Plaza Apartments went up in smoke
last month, firefighters were worried.
Five stories tall, with a frame of wood, the partially
completed complex took less than two hours to burn to
the ground, amid the roar of billowing flames and the
dramatic thud of small explosions.
The cause of the Aug. 19 fire, near the corner of Northwest
Kearney Street and 12th Avenue, is still unknown, but
the Portland Fire Bureau was well aware of how vulnerable
such structures are during construction, when they are
little more than a huge pile of tinder. Fire Bureau
staff had voiced those concerns internally, both generally
and about the Kearney building in particular, according
to firefighter Randy Leonard, who also serves in the
state Legislature.
The ferociousness of the blaze is being attributed
to the fact that the fire-resistant sheet rock walls
had not been completed and the sprinkler system had
not yet been turned on. Once those components are in,
even wood structures are very fire-safe, fire officials
say.
Still, Portland is the only place in Oregon where wood
buildings are allowed to stand so high. In December
1995, the city received a special variance from the
state building codes division, which normally limits
wood structures to four stories. With the variance,
Portland builders can build one extra story.
Such buildings are common in others cities, including
Seattle. But Portland building officials are now rethinking
the policy. A task force was already meeting regularly
to discuss possible modifications to construction regulations
before the fire. Now the focus has shifted to fire safety.
Fire Marshal Jim Crawford said city fire and building
officials scheduled a meeting for Sept. 21 to decide
what measures should be required for the Pearl District
site as well as future projects.
"In review of this fire, as in any issue, what we have
to do is balance the needs of the community for affordable
housing against our desire to have a completely fire-safe
environment," said Crawford. "If it were up to us, every
house would be built out of concrete with sprinkler
systems, but it's not cost-efficient to do it that way."
One possible fix includes installing the sheet rock
and sprinkler systems earlier, as well as providing
24-hour security.
But Robert Forster, project manager for Walsh Construction,
isn't so sure that's realistic. He said sheet rock goes
in from the top down to avoid marring the walls as work
crews pass through the completed sections. And sprinkler
heads, which are easily damaged, shouldn't go in until
the sheet rock is installed. He said 24-hour security
is rarely done on construction sites.
The issue of security is particularly relevant in view
of last month's fire. Although the Fire Bureau has yet
to officially determine the cause of the fire, the building
owner's insurance company suspects arson. The fire appears
to have started in multiple places at once, and "that
almost never happens by accident," says John Lennes
of the construction department of project insurer Zurich
U.S. (Lennes says the apartment's owner, Hoyt Street
Properties, and Walsh Construction are not suspects.)
Residents of the adjacent Riverstone condominiums are
understandably nervous about the rebuilding project.
Their building suffered smoke damage that may have been
exacerbated because the new project was taller than
normal and closer to Riverstone than usual--the two
structures were separated by only a footpath, rather
than a street. "We think that the building that's going
up in the exact same place needs some modifications,"
said Riverstone resident Linda Case. "You can't have
a high-density area and not have high fire safety."
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Willamette Week | originally
published September 22,
1999
