Roof Fire at Ninkasi Brewing Extinguished and Contained, No Injuries

Fire crews extinguished a roof fire Saturday at Ninkasi Brewing in the 200 block of Van Buren Street in Eugene’s Whiteaker neighborhood, evacuating the brewery and reporting no injuries after containing the blaze to its area of origin, officials said.

Eugene Springfield Fire (ESF) said crews were called just before 6:30 p.m. Saturday to a commercial structure fire at Ninkasi. Engine 2 from the Whitaker station arrived in about 3 1/2 minutes and reported seeing smoke coming from the roof, according to ESF messaging shared via FlashAlert and local coverage. Firefighters found heavy smoke inside the building near the production area and moved to evacuate remaining occupants.

Crews located active fire on the roof and called additional resources when flames broke through the roof, KVAL and KCBY reported. The outlets said a second alarm/additional resources were requested to bring in more personnel and equipment to suppress the blaze quickly. ESF said extinguishing the fire required "extensive overhaul" of the roof, as reported by the Register-Guard.

NewSchoolBeer described crews tearing open sections of the roof and dousing the area with water, writing that the work was "no doubt causing extensive damage" to the rooftop structure. That account also said the fire was contained to the area of origin, but did not quantify structural or equipment losses inside the brewery.

Ninkasi leadership is still assessing the cause. Jamie Floyd, identified by NewSchoolBeer as Ninkasi Brewing co-founder and founding Brewmaster, said, “I don’t have a definitive answer to what happened yet. The roof above a boiler caught on fire. We are assessing how it caught on fire. The boiler had been inspected a couple weeks ago,” and added, “lots to figure out still.” ESF has not confirmed a cause, and investigators remain on scene and reviewing the incident.

Neighbors at Blair Alley Arcade and a food truck parked outside captured video of the plume and flames and alerted the fire department, NewSchoolBeer reported, and KVAL and KCBY posted image galleries from the scene. NewSchoolBeer also noted that "The fire was contained and no impact is expected on the Ninkasi Tasting Room, however it is unclear what the amount of damage to the roof and critically a boiler for brewing means to their ability to continue brewing beer."

With the roof requiring extensive overhaul and a boiler area under scrutiny, Ninkasi and ESF said more information will follow as assessments continue. For now the Whitaker/Whiteaker area incident is closed as a contained roof fire, no injuries reported, and an active investigation into cause and damage remains underway.