Fire crew knocks down building after 2-alarm fire caused train, road closures
Update: The fire is out, according to Puyallup Police. East Pioneer is now open in both directions. Railroad is completely open now as well. 15 St. South East between East Pioneer and East Main remains closed. Fire crews are knocking down the building to limit danger of a collapse.
Original story: A two-alarm fire destroyed a commercial building near the old cold storage facility in Puyallup Tuesday morning. Several roads are closed and train service through Puyallup is stopped until further notice.
Multiple roads, including 15th Street Southeast between East Main and East Pioneer and East Pioneer between state Route 512 and 21st Street Southeast, are closed until further notice, Puyallup police said.
“We’re not sure how it started,” said Logan Kovash, Central Pierce Fire and Rescue battalion chief. The 30-40,000 square-foot building is vacant.
“We are unsure how long this has been vacant for,” Kovash said. “It was a fish, meat smoking shop.”
Crews arrived to find fire through the roof, Kovash said. They set up vehicles around the fire, as it was too dangerous to go in.
“As it stands now, we are knocking out hot spots,” Kovash said.
Initially, all train service through the city was closed for multiple hours while the fire was blazing. One line is now open and will operate at a slower speed.
“The building is close to the rails, so we are worried about it collapsing out,” Kovash said. “Essentially, falling on the railroad tracks.”
Almost two years ago to the date, Aug. 21, 2021, a three-alarm commercial fire broke out nearby at the cold storage facility, the City of Puyallup website says.
“The facility contained 1,000 lbs. of anhydrous ammonia refrigerant which made the task of extinguishing the fire more difficult, dangerous and dynamic,” according to the City of Puyallup website.
There is no current ammonia threat with this fire, police say.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
This story was originally published August 22, 2023 at 10:04 AM.
