The Centennial Mills fire investigation took a grim turn Friday, when Portland officials said they believe human remains are buried somewhere in the rubble of the destroyed warehouse.

The conclusion rests on two separate searches conducted the previous day, both producing the same result.

What the Searches Found

Portland Fire & Rescue worked with a human remains detection canine to sweep the burned structure twice on Thursday. On both occasions the dog alerted.

City officials described that outcome as indicating a high probability that remains are present within the debris. Repeating the search and getting a consistent response is standard practice precisely because it reduces the chance of a false signal.

No identification has been made, and officials have not indicated how many individuals may be involved.

How the Fire Started

The building at 1362 N.W. Naito Parkway ignited just before 4 p.m. on Sunday, drawing a substantial firefighter response.

Photographs released by the city show the extent of the destruction. The interior structure was effectively consumed, leaving little of what had stood inside for more than a century.

The warehouse had been vacant for years, a condition that complicates both firefighting and any effort to determine who might have been inside. Empty industrial buildings in urban areas frequently attract people with nowhere else to go, and their presence is rarely documented.

The Asbestos Problem

The fire created a second hazard beyond the flames themselves.

Because the structure is over a hundred years old, it contained asbestos, and the blaze scattered contaminated ash across the surrounding neighbourhood. City testing has continued in the days since, with officials characterising the risk to nearby residents as low.

That assessment does not eliminate the complication for investigators. Working through debris known to contain asbestos requires protective equipment and controlled procedures, which slows the recovery process considerably.

A Demolition Already on the Calendar

A city workgroup has been organising the demolition of what remains of the building. The property owner has been ordered to begin that work no later than next Friday.

That timeline now intersects awkwardly with the search for remains. Demolition and recovery are difficult to conduct simultaneously, and the presence of possible human remains typically takes precedence over structural clearance.

How officials reconcile those two obligations has not been announced.

Why Vacant Buildings Pose This Risk

The situation at Centennial Mills reflects a pattern familiar to fire departments in cities across the country.

Long-empty structures accumulate several overlapping hazards:

• Deteriorated framing that collapses unpredictably during a fire
• Legacy building materials including asbestos and lead
• Unauthorised occupants whose presence is unknown to anyone official
• Limited or nonexistent fire suppression systems

Each of these makes a fire more dangerous while making it harder to know who might be at risk. A firefighter entering a vacant warehouse has no occupancy list and no way to confirm the building is empty.

What Comes Next

The immediate task is careful examination of the debris to locate and recover any remains, work that will require coordination between fire investigators, the medical examiner’s office and specialists equipped to handle contaminated material.

Identification, if remains are recovered, could take considerable time. Fire damage of this severity often limits what forensic methods can be applied, and identification may depend on dental records, DNA or personal effects found nearby.

For now, the city has confirmed what the dogs indicated and little more. The building that stood on Naito Parkway for over a century is gone, and what it may still hold is the subject of an ongoing investigation.