Fire Rages at Old Fairview Training Center in Salem

This fire will destroy one of the facility's expansive multi level wooden buildings that have sat essentially abandoned but guarded over the last several years.

Fire in Salem by Jerry Freeman

(SALEM, Ore.) - Firefighters are on the scene of a major 3-alarm commercial fire in a Salem commercial building on Strong Road. The fire at the Fairview Training Center has consumed a multi level wood building that was built in the early 1900's.

The fire's plume of dark smoke was visible miles from the location in South Salem.

The Fairview Training Center was built just after the turn of the century and has been closed in recent decades since federal funding for mental health programs went away.

This fire will destroy one of the facility's expansive multi level wooden buildings that have sat essentially abandoned but guarded over the last several years.

KGW News reports from their helicopter that the fire is "Unbelievable" and they said nearby roads closed down, with more than a dozen fire trucks directing water on the fire, which was reported initially by the Salem Airport tower.

At this point the fire is burning, our news photographer Jerry Freeman is on the scene and has video of the flaming building falling apart, fully engulfed in flames.

We originally reported that the fire was at a school, and it appears that information is not correct. By all reports at this point, the building was totally abandoned, but structurally sound.

Salem Fire confirmed that the nature of the fire is suspicious.

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Tim King is a former U.S. Marine with twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. In addition to his role as a war correspondent, this Los Angeles native serves as Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor. Tim spent the winter of 2006/07 covering the war in Afghanistan, and he was in Iraq over the summer of 2008, reporting from the war while embedded with both the U.S. Army and the Marines. Tim holds numerous awards for reporting, photography, writing and editing, including the Oregon AP Award for Spot News Photographer of the Year (2004), first place Electronic Media Award in Spot News, Las Vegas, (1998), Oregon AP Cooperation Award (1991); and several others including the 2005 Red Cross Good Neighborhood Award for reporting. Serving the community in very real terms, Salem-News.com is the nation's only truly independent high traffic news Website. You can send Tim an email at this address: newsroom@salem-news.com

Jerry Freeman is part of a new generation of dedicated news photographers who are entering the Internet news industry as a second career. He shares in common with many people the dream of becoming a visual journalist. Joining the Navy at an early age, and the Oregon Army Guard a few years later, Jerry has a wide range of life experiences. He describes himself as “an old truck driver with a new found passion to bare witness on the world’s events.” Teaming up with Salem-News.com he embarks on a new career as a video news photographer and reporter. Stay tuned, and see how it turns out. Jerry seems to exhibit natural talent and is already becoming a published member of the Salem-News.com team. You can send Jerry Freeman an email at this address: Salem-News@gravityshadow.com