Early Friday morning, the Austin Fire Department tackled a blaze below a pedestrian bridge downtown, near a significant historical landmark. KXAN reported that the fire department responded to the incident in the 600 block of West Third Street, where a trash fire had ignited beneath the footbridge, which spans over a homeless encampment.
The location of the blaze was in close proximity to the Third Street Railroad Trestle, a site recognized by its addition to the National Register of Historic Places in 2021. There was a temporary shutdown of the bridge, but it has now reopened, with the structure itself seemingly spared from any significant damage.
Crews have extinguished a trash fire underneath the pedestrian bridge in the 600 blk of W. 3rd. Cause undetermined. Bridge was temporarily closed but is now reopened. pic.twitter.com/09B9EyHiGv
— Austin Fire Info (@AustinFireInfo) January 19, 2024
Officials from the Austin Fire Department have yet to determine what caused the fire, which was reported as extinguished by 9:45 a.m. FOX 7 Austin confirmed that the cause of the fire is still under investigation following the department's response to the situation shortly after 9:30 a.m.
The exact circumstances leading up to the incident are not yet clear, and authorities have not indicated that any suspected foul play is involved at this time. Community concerns have bubbled to the surface regarding the safety and maintenance of areas beneath such urban structures, which are often repurposed as makeshift shelters by the city's homeless population.
