PORTLAND, Ore. — Moviegoers were forced out of the Hollywood Theater in Northeast Portland on Saturday afternoon by a reported gas leak, Portland Fire & Rescue said.
Emergency crews have Sandy Boulevard blocked off in both directions for about an hour at NE 41st Avenue as a safety precaution. Staff members helped the nearly 400 filmgoers over to the north side of Sandy Blvd. while emergency crews looked for the source of the leak.
The initial emergency call came in at about 1:45 p.m. Saturday, shortly before a screening of the movie “RRR.” The natural gas was shut off at the meter, firefighters said, and everyone was safely evacuated from the building.
They said initial readings had gas concentration inside the theater at 35 parts-per-million (PPM). That number dropped to about 5 PPM, Portland Fire said about a half hour later, after opening doors and windows to allow natural ventilation.
“Crews have a ventilation plan in place to use fans to push any trapped gas to exterior of the structure,” Portland Fire & Rescue said.
NW Natural Gas is heading to the scene to address the leak.
Our crews at the scene saw people starting to return to the theater at about 2:45 p.m., roughly an hour after the initial emergency call was placed. Sandy Boulevard was also reopened shortly thereafter.
Hollywood Theater said the rest of the day’s screenings will continue as normal.
Full statement from Hollywood Theater Senior Director of Development and Marketing, Destynee Norwood Zeman, CFRE:
The Hollywood Theatre experienced a gas leak earlier today, and our amazing staff safely evacuated 400 filmgoers across NE Sandy while crews from Portland Fire & Rescue and NW Natural investigated. The issue was quickly resolved and the building has been cleared by both Portland Fire & Rescue and NW Natural as safe for reentry. Attendees are back in their seats enjoying our programming.
All of today’s screenings are continuing as normal.
Thank you to Portland Fire & Rescue, NW Natural, and our community.