Austin firefighters were stretched thin, tackling blazes that erupted across the city, including an incident at an elementary school in southeast Austin. Crews had a hectic schedule, responding to a series of emergencies in the early hours of the morning that culminated with a shed fire at Rodriguez Elementary School.
On scene at Rodriguez Elementary in SE Austin where a shed in a courtyard caught fire and extended slightly into the school’s interior. The fire is out and crews are working on smoke removal. No injuries and the cause of the fire is under investigation. pic.twitter.com/EW8Uoasluk
— Austin Fire Info (@AustinFireInfo) December 29, 2023
The Austin Fire Department was first summoned to address a fire at a house on Bundyhill Drive in east Austin. Reported at 12:38 a.m., this fire resulted in one person sustaining minor injuries, who subsequently refused transport, said to have refused transport by Austin-Travis County EMS, according to CBS Austin,
Following suit, at 4:13 a.m., firefighters were dispatched to the 500 block of Kemp Street, also in southeast Austin. The blaze was swiftly controlled, and smoke was cleared out, with no injuries reported in the incident.
The latest in the string of fires led the department to Rodriguez Elementary School, located at 4400 Franklin Park Drive, off of Teri Road. Firefighters reached the scene at 5:19 a.m., where they encountered a courtyard shed engulfed in flames, which had begun to creep into the school's interior. The fire department confirmed, "No injuries and the cause of the fire is under investigation," as reported by CBS Austin.
The fire at Rodriguez Elementary School was treated as suspicious by the Austin Fire Department until further investigation could suggest otherwise. The scene was to be turned over to the Austin Independent School District Police following the clearance of the fire, an AFD crewmember on the scene said, as per KXAN
