HOUSTON (The Houston Chronicle) – Firefighters battled a massive five-alarm blaze Tuesday afternoon at an apartment complex under construction just west of downtown.
The fire broke out about 12:30 p.m. in the 2400 block of West Dallas near Montrose, according to the Houston Fire Department. It was declared under control at 2:56 p.m.
Flames engulfed the apartment complex as 200 firefighters in 80 units fought to gain an upper hand on the blaze. The five-story, 368-unit building was destroyed. No injuries were reported.
Smoke and flames could be seen climbing into the sky from miles away.
HFD spokesman Capt. Ruy Lozano said the only people inside were construction workers and all of them got out safely. He said one man was rescued as he prepared to jump to safety.
No information was available about what sparked the blaze, but Lozano said high winds caused the fire to spread quickly.
Blake Rudow, who lives down the street from the fire, said the wind was bad just as the fire started.
“At one point the wind was blowing so hard the water wasn’t getting to the fire,” Rudow said.
Motorists and residents are asked to avoid the area as several streets remain closed.
JLB Partners of Dallas is developing the Axis apartment complex on the 4.5 acre site.
Apartment consultant Bruce McClenny said he believed the complex was expected to take its first occupants in June.
Construction Site Engulfed
Lash LaRue said he was installing phone lines on the fifth floor of the building when he heard a loud crash, turned and saw the ceiling collapsing and flames shooting through.
“It was wicked,” LaRue said.
He said other workers were falling off their ladders and he heard a crackling noise as the fire began to spread. He grabbed his gear and left the scene.
LaRue said he suspects the fire started on the roof when some workers were doing soldering work, installing air conditioning equipment.
Mark Ivy, an employee at Stages Repertory Theater, 3201 Allen Parkway, said he could feel the heat outside from the fire several blocks away.
“We saw the flames jump (from the complex under construction) to the apartments where people are living,” Ivy said.
Chris Williamson said he was watching the blaze as it began. It started bright and then he started hearing scary noises.
“I could hear metal buckling inside the building,” he said.
Effects on Neighbors
Windows are broken on surrounding apartments and water got in even where buildings were not burning. Remediation companies are on the scene and are already talking to homeowners about repairing smoke damage.
Houston school district spokeswoman Sheleah Reed said students from area campuses are not in danger, but after-school buses may be delayed. The affected campuses, roughly half a mile away, are Gregory-Lincoln Educational Center, Carnegie Vanguard High School and Wharton Dual Language Academy. Reed said officials also are monitoring the High School for Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice.
The structure is being built on the south and west sides of the historic Magnolia Cemetery.
Glen Telge, president of the cemetery, heard about the fire from his wife who had seen it on television.
“The cemetery, as far as I know, has no protection from fires,” Telge said on his way to the site. “It’s not something we’d ever see being in our future. We’d never envisioned apartments being built around two sides of the cemetery.”
Telge said JLB built a seven-foot privacy wall made of concrete and stone around the south side of the cemetery.
“The wall was intended purely as a privacy measure,” Telge said.
The cemetery, a rectangular property, is around six acres.
It was founded in 1884 by the First German Methodist Church of Houston.
“It’s a historic Texas cemetery and there are a lot of notable burials in the cemetery,” Telge said. “The most notable is Gus Wortham. Other family names are Telge, Bammel and Halliburton.”
The lunch crowd at two Italian restaurants in the 2700 block of West Dallas cleared out fast when the fire started.
“We were having a really busy lunch when we started seeing smoke,” said Vinceanne Mandola, whose family owns Vincent’s and Nino’s. “It started clearing out really fast. People were worried. It was a quick lunch service.”
Mandola said the two restaurants and the family’s Grappino di Nino wine bar, which is located behind Vincent’s, will be open for service tonight.
Smoke wasn’t an issue at the restaurants. Employees turned off air conditioning systems and watered the rooftops to help eliminate the chance of fire.
“You can see just a sea of debris around the restaurants,” Mandola said, adding that the staff will get it cleaned up before opening for dinner this afternoon.
Houston Chronicle reporters Craig Hlavaty, Carol Christian, Ericka Mellon and Syd Kearney contributed to this report.
[bc_video account_id=”” player_id=”” video_id=””]
[bc_video account_id=”” player_id=”” video_id=””]
[bc_video account_id=”” player_id=”” video_id=””]
[bc_video account_id=”” player_id=”” video_id=””]
[bc_video account_id=”” player_id=”” video_id=””]
[bc_video account_id=”” player_id=”” video_id=””]
[bc_video account_id=”” player_id=”” video_id=””]
