Arsonist targets Portland Fire Station on E. Burnside

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- The search is on for a person who set fire outside a Portland fire station while the crew was out battling another fire, damaging the exterior wall.

Late Saturday morning a man was seen "rustling around between some shrubs" as the crew at Fire Station 19, 7301 E. Burnside, was leaving on an emergency call, PF&R officials said. When the crew came back they smelled smoke and found a fire burning outside the station's windows.

Investigators said the fire, started with "ordinary combustibles," was set between the shrubs and the outside wall. Damage was limited to soot staining the bricks of the fire station, officials said.

A surveillance camera captured the fire glow at the station, which PF&R posted to their X account.

The investigation into this arson continues. Anyone with information is asked to contact Portland police.

This is the second incident in about two weeks of a Portland fire station being intentionally damaged. In the early morning hours of August 19, a white Ford F-150 drove onto the lawn of the fire station at 5211 SE Mall Street and hit the garage door and flagpole. The major damage needed emergency repairs.

That case also remains under investigation.

KOIN 6 News will have more information later in the night.