The Fire at Shin Shin Foods In North Portland

As I was driving west along NE Broadway yesterday evening, I noticed plumes of smoke rising in the distance. I remember saying out loud to myself, “Well, that’s not good.” Turns out that was a fire at Shin Shin Foods (one of three commercial fires yesterday in Portland) at 400 N Thompson Street in North Portland. They make noodles and dumpling wraps, among other things. As of the writing of this article, the fire is still hot, with reports of it glowing this morning.

The Fire at Shin Shin Foods: Why?

Portland Fire & Rescue sent out an email last night with some details. First, “The fire at Shin Shin was reported to have been a grease fire that started in the elevated commercial size hood vent.” The PF&R Fire Investigations Unit is on it and is starting the investigation process into the fire.

PF&R was dispatched around 4pm. First, the fire was elevated to a second alarm “because of the size of the smoke column with heavy dark smoke twisting as it rose from the building”; then eventually elevated to a fourth alarm. Around 100 firefighters were there working to extinguish the flames. Thankfully, nobody was injured at this site.

More Details on the Fire

I have wondered who writes these summaries at PF&R, as they really do take you to the scene. Here’s how they describe what went on:

“The first arriving crews were able to connect to a hydrant and stretch hose 15’ to 20’ on the interior of the building but the fire grew too large, and they were forced to withdraw, bringing all their tools and hoses with them as they left the building. At this point, there was fire throughout the 100-year-old 26000 sq. ft building with fire and smoke pushing out through cracks in the external brick walls. The command officer declared that all companies were to prepare themselves for a defensive operation with many large bore hose lines applying water into any opening that included the roof areas that had been burned off by the fire.

Truck crews extended their arial ladders while engine companies hooked up to fire hydrants and supplied the trucks with water. The location of this building along with the need for significant amount of water posed a bit of a challenge for the crews and multiple engines were being used to pump the water through thousands of feet of hose to get to the tip of the nozzle and then placed onto the fire. At one point, one of the aerial ladders was lowered to the ground level and was flowing nearly 2000 gallons a minute alone into the structure.

“Early in the fire there was a concern for the structural stability of the building. With the roof completely burned off and cracks in the exterior walls, the command officer directed all members to work outside of any potential collapse zone, which is 1 ½ times the height of the wall. During this worktime, the fire growth was slowed but the inability to get water to locations on fire due to internal walls and the positions of the hoses outside.

“This large warehouse was a noodle manufacturing company with lots of flammables stored closely within the building allowing for easy fire growth. As the fire was slowly growing and the crews working for extended lengths of time, the command officer called for a third and fourth alarm assignments to have enough members on scene to perform the required work needed but have a chance to go to rehab and return to the task after a short break.”

A Team Effort, Plus the Broader Businesses Affected

Putting out the fire was a team effort. Pacific Power and Northwest Natural shut down the utilities; the Portland Water Bureau increased the water pressure in the main, serving the fourth alarm fire; the Logistics Section of Portland Fire & Rescue dispatched multiple Emergency Vehicle Technicians to ensure the rigs would operate safely operate during the fire; ODOT monitored the smoke concentration in the southbound lanes of I-5 for the safety of the evening commuters.

According to the USDA, Shin Shin Foods makes Umi Organic noodles, a popular brand I often seen at the Hollywood Farmers Market. Shin Shin also had some unfortunate injuries happen onsite in 2016. This same address, 400 N Thompson Street, is also the home to Tasty Fortunes, which makes fortune cookies. (Thanks to Reddit for these details.) So, multiple businesses are affected directly, not to mention any lingering smoke and odors in the vicinity (having had a kitchen fire myself in the past, when the fire is out there’s definitely stuff that remains).

So is this the end of Shin Shin Foods and Tasty Fortunes? I hope not. And Umi Organic is also in a bind. I wish them all the best of luck as they regroup and figure out what’s next.