A fire that broke out in a third-floor bathroom of the city’s homeless shelter Monday afternoon appears to have been set.
The fire at the Oxford Street Shelter, which was reported at 3:01 p.m. when the building’s fire alarm system activated, forced the evacuation of the building at 203 Oxford St. in Bayside. No one was injured and everyone evacuated safely, a city spokesperson said.
Fire Capt. John Brennan said the situation was under control by about 4 p.m., but the extent of the damage was not yet known.
Dozens of unhoused people rely on the shelter each night as a safe, warm place to sleep. After the fire, city spokesperson Jessica Grondin issued a statement announcing that the individuals who planned to stay at the shelter Monday night would be able to return to space on the first and second floor. Overflow guests will be temporarily housed in local hotels that the city already has agreements with.
The Oxford Street Shelter was serving 83 people Monday night, Grondin said.
The Portland Fire Department’s Fire Investigation Team and the State Fire Marshal’s Office will continue to investigate further “due to the fact that the fire appears to have been set.”
The fire happened at a bad time for the city, whose resources already are stretched thin as it tries to provide shelter for people experiencing homelessness and a growing number of asylum seekers in need of emergency shelter.
Portland is currently providing shelter to about 1,150 people per night, more than twice as many as in summer 2019, when a previous influx of asylum seekers meant the city had to house about 440 people, and it turned the Portland Expo into a temporary shelter to do so.
The city is currently using 10 hotels across five municipalities in addition to its two shelters to house people. In July, the city spent $1.1 million on hotel costs. In December, it spent $2.5 million.
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