South Austin condo fire: 1 person rescued from building, AFD says
Apartment fire in South Austin
The Austin Fire Department is responding to an apartment fire in South Austin.
AUSTIN, Texas - One person was rescued after a condo fire in South Austin.
What we know:
On Wednesday, Feb. 19, firefighters responded to a roof fire at the Talisman Condos in the 1500 block of Barton Springs Road.
One person was rescued from the fire by firefighters. ATCEMS says medics evaluated one adult for minor injuries.
The fire went through the roof, making this a three-alarm fire.
What we don't know:
AFD has ruled the fire's cause accidental but did not elaborate on what it was.
By the numbers:
Four units were damaged by fire and a total of 15 residents have been displaced, says AFD.
AFD has assessed the damages at $1.1 million.
Local perspective:
Neighbor Billy Langston saw it unfold in front of him.
"We saw flames coming out, and then we started telling everyone to evacuate. Then eventually the flames took over the roof and the air compressor unit, everything fell through. That's where it began to spread throughout all the units," he said.
"There was a gentleman that kept looking out his balcony, and we kept signaling him. He didn't understand that he was in danger, that there was fire right close to him. The firemen finally put a ladder up, and they carried him down," Langston said.
"The firefighters got out here, and they got out here in large numbers, and they worked pretty diligently. They just had a lot of difficulty getting access with the water being that they could only approach the building from this side only. All the flames on the back side, they had to go in and then fight it up through the roof, but they did a nice job," Langston added.
Cold weather complications
Cold weather complicates scene at condo fire
The Austin Fire Department faced more challenges at a South Austin condo fire thanks to the cold weather.
What they're saying:
The scene was a clash of elements: the below-freezing air turning some water to fight the fire into ice.
"Those started to freeze up, luckily we carry absorbant, and we had sanding, basically material that was able to mitigate those effects," Assistant Fire Chief Andre de la Reza said.
He says frozen water was also a slip hazard. Wind was also a factor.
"Since the fire did go through the roofline, that wind will come up, and we already had an exit opening, so the fire would intensify but in a way that we could control things," de la Reza said. "It restricted that fire from going further in and starting to affect more heavily those other units."
The Source: Information from the Austin Fire Department