Portland squatters destroy Farmer’s Barn Tavern with fire

An abandoned Portland tavern burned to the ground this week in a blaze sparked by squatters who had been harassing the crime-riddled community for more than a year.

Firefighters tried in vain Wednesday to beat back flames that consumed the former Farmer’s Barn Tavern in north Portland, which neighbor Dusty McCord said was “clearly a time bomb waiting to go off.”

He said squatters have been menacing the neighborhood since they besieged the bar that closed in 2018, threatening residents with guns, sometimes physically attacking them — and frequently cutting down trees to make campfires.

Portland Fire and Rescue (PF&R) said this week was the eighth time they’d been called to the building to put out blazes.

When neighbors complained to the city, McCord said officials did nothing.

“The level of negligence is breathtaking,” he told the Oregonian.

“For about the last 18 months, the building has been a complete nuisance with squatters, campers,” neighbor Eric Marentette told KOIN 6.

“There’s been a lot of theft.”

Since Farmer’s Barn Tavern shuttered, there have been at least four fire code enforcement cases at the property, according to the Oregonian.

Squatter problems had grown so rampant that the building’s owners requested a demolition permit with the city in February, but were still awaiting approval at the time of the blaze.

“There has been a history of in-and-out usage of that location,” PF&R told KOIN 6 News.

“Portland Fire is constantly addressing some of these abandoned buildings.”

About 40 firefighters responded to the scene and were forced to abandon a search of the building as the flames grew.

Power was cut to the area at one point, and the surrounding buildings were protected.

“It looks like the end of the world in our backyard,” Marentette told Willamette Week.

“I think the city needs to figure out better ways to deal with this before it comes to this result,” he said. “I don’t think the city seems equipped to deal with it until they’re embarrassed [when] a city council meeting or news organizations take them to task.”

The fire was just the most recent blaze started by squatters in Portland — at least five have burned this year alone.

In February, resident Jacob Adams was forced to defend his home with a fire extinguisher from two squatter-set fires next to his house within 12 hours.

“There are fires that have been happening off and on. Major ones. This recent one actually came and set our property on fire,” he told Fox 12.

“Within 12 hours of that fire, another fire popped up. My wife was screaming, and propane tanks were igniting off from the fire.”

After this week’s fire, PF&R representative Rick Graves said the department was evaluating its tactics for addressing abandoned building blazes so that both community members and crews could be kept safe.

City Commissioner Rene Gonzalez said the solution lay in providing adequate shelter for homeless people.

“These very dangerous fires are the result of our community’s inability to address effectively unsanctioned camping and squatters. Until we offer adequate shelter options and enforce the law with respect to unsanctioned camping and squatting, these fires will continue,” he said in a statement to KOIN 6.

“Property owners also have a responsibility to keep their buildings safe. It is primarily with the property owner that the City — through the Fire Marshal’s Office and the enforcement wings of the city — seeks enforcement of any applicable city code.”