Hundreds of residents are now without homes following a sizable blaze that tore through an apartment complex in the Spring Branch neighborhood last night. The Houston Fire Department was called to a complex on Teague Road at approximately 6:19 p.m., confirmed by dispatch, quickly escalating to a three-alarm fire, with additional crews brought in to combat the growing inferno. KPRC 2 reported a visible plume of smoke seen from Beltway 8 as more than 100 firefighters converged on the scene.
Fire Chief Thomas Muñoz of the Houston Fire Department shared that the fire managed to rapidly spread, resulting in severe damage to around a hundred units either by fire or subsequent water damage. In the efforts to contain the flames, one firefighter sustained a shoulder injury while another was treated at the hospital for heat exhaustion, but both are stated to be doing well. Fortunately, no residents suffered injuries. The American Red Cross was called in to assist those displaced by the disaster.
As the residents stood outside, watching the destruction of their homes, the urgent situation unfolded. Joshua Mckenzie, a resident of the complex, told KPRC 2, “We got what we could to get out, by that time it was already engulfed in flames, everything is gone, we lost it all.” Challenges emerged as firefighters reportedly faced trafficked areas, though it is not yet determined if parked vehicles in fire lanes could have impeded the firefighters’ response.
On the investigative front, Houston arson investigators are diligently working to untangle the cause of the fire, details of which are still forthcoming. All utilities for the apartment complex were turned off as a safety precaution. The fire has raised concerns again about fire safety and emergency access in densely populated residential areas. "There were 389 units at the complex and about 100 had fire or water damage," as stated by KHOU.
