Several residents at a Northeast Side apartment complex lost their homes Saturday evening.
A two-alarm fire destroyed two apartment buildings at the Alamo Park apartments in the 2300 block of Austin Highway. A San Antonio Fire Department official said the wind played a huge factor in spreading the fire.
More than 20 fire units arrived at the apartment complex around 6:00 p.m.
KSAT was told crews found flames on the third floor of an apartment building, and that the wind caught the fire and spread it, affecting buildings 8 and 9, which housed 24 apartment units.
SAFD Battalion Chief Brandon Schultz said as the wind spread the flames, firefighters were forced to regroup.
“We were on the offensive. We had crews on the inside trying to stop it; it got up in the attic,” Schultz said. “We couldn’t stop due to the wind. It got away from us, so we ended up having to pull everybody out before it collapsed.”
Schultz said all residents were evacuated, and that all units and both buildings are a total loss.
He said this fire demonstrated how quickly the winds can intensify a situation.
“A wind-driven fire, and it’s super dry and with the wind blowing it does not take much to get a fire going and that’s, that’s what happened here tonight,” Schultz said. ”We’re going to find out the cause. But the wind definitely played a huge factor in it.”
In addition to the wind, Schultz said fire crews had to deal with water pressure issues while attempting to fight the fire.
Firefighters remained on the scene through Saturday night to monitor for hot spots.
The Red Cross is assisting residents who lost their homes in the fire.
Fire investigators are investigating the cause of the fire.
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