Fire engulfs Texas apartments
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The Houston apartment complex is engulfed in flames in this photo by Christopher Laski.
AP
HOUSTON — A large apartment complex under construction in Houston has been consumed by fire, sending thick, black smoke billowing into the sky and drawing hundreds of emergency personnel.
Much of the high-rise structure was reduced to rubble Tuesday by wind-driven flames.
Houston Fire Department spokesman Capt. Ruy Lozano
told the Houston Chroniclethat the only people inside were construction workers and it is believed they all got out safely. He said one man was rescued as he prepared to jump to safety. No injuries have been reported.
The dramatic blaze first was reported about 12:30 p.m. The fire was upgraded to a five-alarm call about an hour later.
Fire officials said more than 200 emergency personnel were at the scene Tuesday afternoon and were working to protect nearby buildings.
No information was available about what sparked the blaze, but Lozano told the newspaper that high winds caused the fire to spread quickly.
Lash LaRue told the newspaper that he was installing phone lines on the fifth floor of the building when he heard a loud crash and then saw the ceiling collapsing and flames shooting through.
“It was wicked,” LaRue said.
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – Nearly 150 firefighters tackled a five-alarm blaze that burned at a building under construction in San Francisco’s Mission Bay neighborhood Tuesday evening.
BRE Properties, which focuses on development, acquisition and management of apartment communities in California and Seattle, said the fire occurred at Block 5 of its MB360 development project, located on the west side of Fourth Street between China Basin and Mission Rock streets near AT&T Park.
The fire, which was reported at 4:56 p.m., prompted the evacuation of nearby buildings, including the Strata at Mission Bay apartments.
A woman who lives in an apartment directly facing the building on fire told KCBS her window cracked and her room started to fill with smoke. She grabbed her dog and ran out.
The American Red Cross responded to the scene to assist residents displaced by the fire.
According to San Francisco police Sgt. Eric O’Neal, the entire east side of Fourth Street between Mission Rock and China Basin streets was evacuated.
Firefighters aggressively attacked the flames, keeping the blaze from spreading to other buildings, though the fire burned for several hours, Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White said.
One firefighter was taken to a hospital after suffering a minor burn, according to a dispatcher. No other injuries were reported.
Hayes-White told reporters at the scene that the fire was contained to the building of origin, and that firefighters were performing an aggressive attack on the building on fire.
The chief said she’s glad that firefighters have been able to prevent the flames from spreading to nearby buildings.
“This is a great save right here,” she said.
According to Hayes-White, the building’s sprinkler system was not yet installed.
Looking to prevent the fire from spreading, Hayes-White said, “We applied water curtains to cool the buildings close by.”
“We are in a defensive mode,” the chief said. She called the approach to fighting the fire as “surround and drown.”
Hayes-White said the possibility for collapse is very likely and that firefighters have set up a perimeter around the expected collapse zone.
The chief said Tuesday night that firefighters were getting the upper hand, but the fire was not yet contained. “We’ll be here another few hours at least,” Hayes-White said.
PG&E crews responded to the fire as well and determined that there were no gas lines running through the burning building.
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