A LARGE FIRE IN AN AUSTIN, TEXAS, APARTMENT complex Monday afternoon destroyed two dozen units and displaced hundreds of residents who are now without power.
The Austin American-Statesman REPORTS:
Firefighters arrived at the fire at the two-story Westheimer Regency Apartments at 7020 Grand Canyon Drive about 2:40 p.m., Austin Fire Department Capt. Rob Bredahl said. The bottom floor of a section of the complex had been consumed by flames when firefighters arrived, and they were unable to start putting out the fire because they first had to rescue several children who were hanging out of second-story windows, Bredahl said.
“The fire really got a head start,” Bredahl said. He said the building is an older complex without a sprinkler system. In recent years, sprinkler systems have been required in newly constructed apartment complexes, Chief Harry Evans said.
The fire was soon upgraded to four alarms, with about a third of the entire on-duty Fire Department at the scene, Bredahl said.
KXAN-TV has a good video report:
The fire was brought under control about 4 hours later at 6:20 pm Central. Eight adults and four children were taken to area hospitals. Three were injured when they jumped from upper-story windows and balconies, and two were suffering from burns, including a 2-month-old infant. Everybody has been accounted for.
Austin American-Statesman photo
So far, no cause for the fire has been determined.
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