Philomath Fire and Rescue sent a ladder truck with a crew of three along with Fire Chief Chancy Ferguson to the coast Sunday to help battle a fire at a Pacific Seafood plant on Newport’s Historic Bayfront that forced evacuations along Yaquina Bay.
Ferguson said the Corvallis Fire Department also sent a ladder truck with a crew of three. Both trucks were assigned to the same section of the fire scene, designated Division Alpha, where crews raised their aerial ladders and used large truck-mounted nozzles, known as master streams, to pour heavy volumes of water onto the burning building.
Each of those nozzles was flowing close to 1,000 gallons per minute, Ferguson said.
Master streams “flow too much water for firefighters to be able to manage on a hose line,” he said. The ladders also allow crews to direct water onto a fire from above, he added.
Mid-valley firefighters also responded as part of State Hazmat Team 05, the Linn-Benton regional hazardous materials team. Ferguson said crews from the Corvallis and Albany fire departments staffed the team in Newport.
According to a news release from the Oregon State Fire Marshal, the agency mobilized the hazmat team because the plant uses anhydrous ammonia for refrigeration. Team members used specialized equipment to monitor air quality and modeled where the ammonia could have an impact to help guide evacuations, the release said.
“The ammonia tank has been found and, thankfully, doesn’t appear to be punctured or leaking,” State Fire Marshal Mariana Ruiz-Temple said in the release Sunday afternoon.
Fire officials later said the risk to the plant’s two ammonia tanks had been mitigated, the Lincoln Chronicle reported.
The fire broke out about 8:50 a.m. Sunday at the Pacific Seafood freezer plant on Bay Boulevard and destroyed the building, according to the Chronicle. Newport Fire Chief Rob Murphy told the Chronicle that ammonia was present in the smoke, though he was unsure to what degree. The Chronicle reported that an explosion and a partial roof collapse accompanied the fire, and that firefighters from throughout Lincoln County were called in.
In a statement, Clackamas-based Pacific Seafood said it was not aware of any injuries and that all employees were accounted for. Ashton Meier, a company vice president, said Pacific Seafood was devastated by the fire. The cause has not been released.
According to the fire marshal’s office, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office issued Level 2 and Level 3 evacuation notices for people within a mile of the plant, and the city opened an evacuation shelter at an elementary school. Police blocked entrances to the Bayfront, and Newport narrowed its recommended evacuation area Sunday afternoon while asking the rest of the city to be ready to leave, the Chronicle reported.
To give local firefighters a break, the state fire marshal’s office mobilized a Marion County task force with a ladder truck and four engines, which had been scheduled to arrive Sunday evening, according to the release. A Lane County strike team with five engines was scheduled to arrive Monday morning. The agency said a state regional mobilization coordinator is working with Newport Fire on scene, and the hazmat team will remain for the duration of the incident.
In a statement, Sen. Dick Anderson, R-Lincoln City, whose district includes both Newport and Philomath, urged the public to stay away from the Bayfront.
Anderson said he has been in contact with Ruiz-Temple and thanked Newport firefighters, the sheriff’s office and the state and regional crews who responded. He said his office will work with state and local officials on the response and recovery.
Editor’s note: Shayla Escudero’s reporting for the Lincoln Chronicle contributed to this story.
