Firefighter injured, building partially collapsed in Avery Ranch Golf Course fire

AUSTIN, Texas - A firefighter was injured, and a building partially collapsed in a fire at the Avery Ranch Golf Course in Northwest Austin.

The Austin Fire Department (AFD) said the firefighter had minor burns and was able to continue working on scene.

Firefighters said an employee saw the cart barn on fire around 5:30 a.m. and called for help. There were about 80 golf carts inside the building.

General manager of the golf course, Josele Diaz, said he rushed over when he got the call from his employee. However, nothing could have prepared him for what he was about to see.

"When I got here, the place was ablaze, and it was burning. The whole thing was engulfed in flames and the roof collapsed," Diaz said.

The cart barn where the fire happened is used as storage, which AFD said proved to be a challenge in fighting the fire.

"There is a lot more difficulty getting into and making access to the structure itself because it was a storage facility storing approximately 80 golf carts. It had some security features that we had to overcome using power tools and saws to get inside," said Josh Anderson, AFD Captain.

Anderson said the initial thought was the fire was small, but when the unit was opened, firefighters immediately had to go into defense mode.

"We recognized and realized that the fire was much more extensive than what we could see from the exterior. We then transitioned to a defensive operation from a safety perspective, and we fought the fire from the exterior of the building," Anderson said.

Around 50 firefighters were called out to fight the fire from Austin, Cedar Park and Round Rock fire departments.

"For the most part, I couldn't even fathom a guess as to how it started. The next step is to get it rebuilt and start from the ground up. Maybe now we can make some improvements that weren't able to be done," Diaz said.

Still no word on the cause of the fire.