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The three-alarm fire that consumed much of the Roseway Theater this month started with an electrical failure, Portland Fire & Rescue announced tonight.
The fire bureau said shortly after 6 pm that its investigators had ruled out arson as a cause for the Aug. 6 blaze, which effectively destroyed the 97-year-old movie house on Northeast Sandy Boulevard.
The bureau said arson investigators and Oregon State Police used a 160-ton crane to remove the charred remains of the theater’s roof and inspect what remained of the auditorium. “PF&R’s Arson Dog was on hand today as well to help investigators examine the scene for indicators of arson,” the statement added.
Investigators concluded the cause was an electrical glitch—but not what kind. “Further analysis may be required to identify the specific failures which led to this tragedy,” the fire bureau statement says. “We have cleared the scene and it has been turned over to private fire investigators.”
The Roseway underwent a major restoration in 2008 that included converting its projection and sound system to digital. Earlier this evening, owner Greg Wood gave his first comments since the blaze to The Oregonian, saying he would consider reopening but wasn’t really sure.
UPDATE, 2:45 pm Tuesday: Wood confirmed to WW that he’s thinking about rebuilding the Roseway.
“My first inkling is, ‘Yes, hopefully we can rebuild it.’ But to be honest, it’s also overwhelming,” he said. “The place is such a mess. We had very adequate insurance. It was a very phenomenal fire. When you put all that stuff together, I don’t know what the heck’s really going to happen.”
He added: ”Best case scenario is we rebuild the Roseway and keep theaters going. Worst case scenario is the insurers won’t cover the cost of what we need to rebuild it, with COVID and everything else. I’m trying not to think too far in that direction. But the intention is definitely to keep doing what we’re doing.”
Last year was an unusually dire one for structural fires in Portland: The city tied its all-time record for fire deaths. It’s not clear whether structural fires have increased or decreased this year. Two weeks after WW first requested year-to-date numbers from PF&R, the bureau has yet to provide them, citing staffing shortages.