SAN ANTONIO – Two firefighters were injured Wednesday morning while battling a massive fire at a vacant apartment complex on the North Side.
The fire started just after 5:30 a.m. at the Sante Fe Apartments off Blanco Road near Gilbert Lane, prompting a three-alarm response involving approximately 150 firefighters and additional support crews.
San Antonio Fire Department spokesperson Joe Arrington said firefighters arrived to find heavy flames inside the boarded-up apartment complex and had to force their way into the building.
While searching the building, one firefighter fell through a section of the floor that had been weakened by the flames.
They were sounding the floor, making sure it was solid. And as they were sounding, it is when it collapsed underneath them,” Arrington said. “Fortunately, the whole crew didn’t go in. It was just one firefighter, and they were able to get a ladder to get him out pretty quickly.
The firefighter was rescued without serious injuries and did not require hospitalization.
A second firefighter suffered minor burns to the hands and was taken to a hospital for treatment and evaluation as a precaution.
The floor collapse prompted commanders to upgrade the response to a second alarm, bringing additional firefighters and equipment to the scene. The fire was later upgraded to a third alarm as flames continued spreading through the large, H-shaped building.
Arrington said early indications suggest the fire started on the first floor before spreading to the second floor and eventually reaching other sections of the complex.
Parts of the floor and roof have collapsed, forcing firefighters to battle the flames from outside the building rather than risk additional injuries.
It’s a very stubborn fire. It’s in the floor joists and the ceilings and the walls,” Arrington said.
Firefighters were using hoses and preparing to use ladder trucks to pour water through openings in the damaged roof.
Although the entire apartment complex is vacant and boarded up, firefighters initially entered the building because they could not rule out the possibility that someone was seeking shelter inside.
“Even though this is a vacant apartment complex, we have to assume someone is in there,” Arrington said. “Just because it’s boarded up and vacant from the outside doesn’t mean someone’s not seeking shelter there.”
Arrington said police were aware that unhoused individuals sometimes frequent the area.
Crews have not found anyone inside the building, and there have been no reports of anyone missing.
Arrington said the decision to enter the burning building despite the dangerous conditions reflects the risks firefighters take when they believe someone could be trapped.
We have a saying in the fire service: Risk a lot to save a lot and risk a little to save a little,” Arrington said.
Firefighters are expected to remain at the scene for several hours, and drivers should expect traffic delays along Blanco Road during the morning commute.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Arrington said fire investigators were already at the scene, but they would not be able to enter the building until the flames were extinguished and the structure was considered safe.
Investigators will work to determine where and how the fire started. Although the building was vacant, officials have not determined whether the fire was intentionally set.
With extensive damage to the floors and roof, Arrington said firefighters may never be able to safely reenter the building to fight the flames.
“It may be one of those things where we have to fight the entire thing defensively,” Arrington said.
