2026-09-22 · housing
Records reveal repeated fire violations at Centennial Mills before devastating blaze
KATU reviewed inspection records for Centennial Mills, the vacant Pearl District warehouse complex that burned on August 2. Inspectors flagged blocked fire doors and structurally unsafe areas in June 2000, months after the city bought the property in February 2000, and a February 2013 inspection found a broken sprinkler system, exposed energized electrical equipment and failed support posts; the city confirmed it spent about $19 million on the building over its nearly 25 years of ownership. Portland Fire & Rescue records after the sale to a private developer show crews repeatedly found unhoused people living inside, and missing fire alarm, sprinkler and fire escape inspection documentation.
The city sold the complex to a private developer about two years ago; the new owner did not respond to KATU's questions.