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Tag: Montrose Fire

  • Houston Fire Possibly Caused By Welders

    A fire that destroyed a huge apartment complex in Houston yesterday took 2 1/2 hours to control, according to the AP.

    Fire engulfed the complex, which was under construction, in flames and billowing black smoke.

    The blaze required 5 alarms and hundreds of emergency workers to get it under control on Tuesday afternoon.

    All of the construction workers are safe and accounted for, and only one man had to be rescued from a balcony. The rest were able to evacuate safely of their own accord.

    Paul Johnston, COO for JLB Partners in Dallas who is building the complex, was shocked when he saw the remains of the complex his company was almost done building.

    “This was a first for us, unfortunately,” Johnston said. He did say that the building was insured. He also said the company’s priority is “that everyone is safe, and we cooperate with the authorities.”

    Houston Fire Department spokesman Capt. Ruy Lozano said that the fire spread quickly due to the high winds which plague the area on a regular basis. The primary cause of the blaze is still under investigation, but there is some reasonable speculation on the part of the fire department, according to the Houston Chronicle.

    “There was a report of a couple of guys working on the roof doing welding,” said Houston Fire Department Deputy Chief Greg Lewis. “When our units arrived, there was a small fire and construction workers were attempting to put it out. There was sustained wind of 15 to 20 miles an hour, and it was a wind-driven fire.”

    Lash LaRue is a worker on the site. He was installing the building’s phone system when he said he heard a loud crash, and then the ceiling collapsed and flames began to shoot through the hole in the ceiling.

    “It was wicked.”, he said. “All those months of work and it’s just gone in seconds.”

    The fire began at about 12:30pm Tuesday and about an hour later, the blaze was upgraded to a five alarm call. Nearby property, including a historic cemetery, sustained minor water and smoke damage. Residents reportedly rushed to the area to check on property as the $50 million dollar luxury complex was reduced to ashes.

    Image Via YouTube

  • Houston Fire “Under Control,” Building Destroyed by Blaze

    A fire that destroyed a large, $50 million luxury apartment complex under construction in Houston was under control by mid-afternoon on Tuesday, according to authorities.

    The Houston Fire Department said the five-alarm fire, which drew hundreds of emergency personnel to the scene, was under control about two-and-a-half hours after it started.

    Ninety construction workers who had been in the high-rise building in Montrose were forced to evacuate the five-story complex when the noontime blaze broke out. All of the workers have been accounted for, and no injuries have been reported. The Houston Fire Department rescued one construction worker trapped  on an upstairs balcony seconds before he would have been engulfed in flames.

    Roughly 200 emergency personnel responded to the scene with 80 pieces of equipment.

    The fire was first reported at roughly 12:30 p.m., and was upgraded to a five-alarm fire an hour later. Much of the building was reduced to rubble Tuesday.

    The 396-unit complex in the 2400 block of West Dallas, known as the Axis Apartments, was to open to tenants in June.

    Adjacent properties, including the historic Magnolia Cemetery, received minor water and fire damage.

    High winds made it difficult to control the fire, which destroyed the complex, and damaged some vehicles parked nearby. At least a dozen trees were also affected by the fire.

    There is speculation the fire may have been sparked off by a welder, but the cause of the fire is under investigation.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons