PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Firefighters early Friday morning battled a massive fire that engulfed three to four box trucks parked at a U-Haul rental location in Southeast Portland.
Portland Fire & Rescue arrived to the blaze on the corner of Southeast 48th Avenue and Southeast Powell Boulevard just after 1:45 a.m.
According to PF&R, the fire started while someone was attempting to siphon gas from the U-Haul trucks.
Residents in the area told KOIN 6 that they were furious saying that every car on the street has been a victim of gas siphoning.
They also say it’s been going on at the U-Haul for a long time and that U-Haul put up a fence to try and stop gas thieves but say it hasn’t helped a bit.
Firefighters tried to stop the fire from spreading but said the trucks were parked closely together — making it difficult to reach the middle of the lot where the fire was burning. Fire officials said the lot was filled with various-sized rental trucks parked nearly bumper-to-bumper.
While crews attacked the fire, U-Haul personnel helped move trucks that were not impacted. This allowed firefighters to better reach the blaze and extinguish it.
An investigation is underway. Fire officials said no one was injured.