At one point, the weight of all that water and damage from the fire caused a floor inside one unit to collapse down to the level below.
SAN ANTONIO — A roof collapse created a dangerous situation late Saturday night for San Antonio firefighters as they battled a three-alarm fire at a northwest-side apartment complex. Then Sunday morning, firefighters had to return to put out some hot spots.
Firefighters were first called to the 11100 block of Huebner Oaks at around 10:12 p.m. Saturday for reports of a structure fire. Officials say that more than 45 units responded to battle the blaze.
SAFD Public Information Officer Joe Arrington says the fire started in a common balcony area and quickly spread into the attic and walls of the apartment building. Sprinklers inside the apartments helped slow the flames, but this turned into a very labor-intensive battle for crews.
Crews had to rip open walls, ceilings, floors, and even portions of the attic to find the hidden hot spots. At one point, the weight of all that water and damage from the fire caused a floor inside one unit to collapse down to the level below.
“Unfortunately, it appears that, whatever started it collapsed the roof down into that apartment, which, presents another problem as far as what started,” said Sgt. McElwain, SAPD.
Before the fire, SAFD says a resident told them there were “kids or young adults” having a get together or party in a unit above. Shortly after, SAFD said the noise dissipated and that’s when the fire started and they started to see dripping from the ceiling.
SAFD says whatever started the fire collapsed the roof into that apartment and 12 more units were impacted by the fire.
The fire was mostly contained by midnight, but firefighters had to return Sunday to extinguish some hot spots that were in places that were hard to reach.
Everybody got out, according to SAFD, and no injuries were reported. The Red Cross is on hand to help residents who were displaced by the fire.
Arson is now investigating what caused the fire.