Investigators Determine Cause of Storage Depot Fire

The cause of a fire that destroyed nearly 50 units at a Storage Depot in Lebanon, Oregon on Wednesday, June 5 has been determined.

Officials with the Linn County Sheriff’s Office said they arrested Micah Schulte, 43, for starting the fire. According to officials, Schulte had been using a torch to smoke marijuana oil in his unit. When the torch tipped over, it ignited items in his unit and then spread. Schulte is being held on a $20,000 bond and is charged with criminal mischief and reckless endangerment. He is expected to go before a judge later this month.

Although Schulte is responsible for starting the fire, tenants like Destiny, who chose not to provide her last name to media outlets, feels that multiple people are to blame. She says that the discovery of accelerants in other units, such as propane tanks, tires, and ammunition, contributed to the fire and its spread. She also thinks that these items being stored amounts to “pure negligence” on the part of the facility.

Amanda Tuke, resident manager at the Storage Depot, says these items are not permitted in units but that the facility does not monitor what is stored. “What [tenants] put in there when we’re not around to babysit is out of our control,” explains Tuke. “We don’t inspect their units. Once they move in, that is their space that they’re renting so we don’t go into that until the tenant has vacated.”

She does state that the facility will take a second look at how items are stored as well as their policies. 

According to Linn County Sheriff’s Office and Lebanon Fire District officials, the fire started at about 7:30 p.m. on June 5 at the Storage Depot located at 6666 OR-34, on Highway 34. Firefighters said their greatest challenge was getting water to the location, as the only nearby water supply was a 12,000-gallon tank which was insufficient to fight the fire, and it took time for them to set up their own water supply.