SAN ANTONIO – Two women were taken to the hospital after a fire destroyed their home on the North Side on Friday morning.
The fire broke out around 5:15 a.m. in the 14000 block of Cedar Mill, not far from Huebner Road and Northwest Military Highway.
A fire captain at the scene said firefighters arrived to find flames shooting through the roof of the second floor.
One woman was on the top of the porch area and had to be rescued, and another woman was already outside of the home. The women, who are mother and daughter, were both taken to the hospital and their injuries don’t appear to be serious.
Firefighters had to use a defensive strategy since the home went up in flames within minutes and had a partial collapse, the fire captain said. He added that they considered it a hoarder house, and firefighters had to be pulled out of the home.
Neighbor Aaron Kluger said the sound of the sirens and flashing lights drew him outside.
“The fire was coming out the roof past the trees,” he said. “And now all the neighbors are standing outside, watching in amazement of what was going on.”
Daylight exposed the destruction left behind by the flames.
The home is likely a total loss. The estimated cost of the damage is unknown.
Neighbors tell KSAT the family had lived in the home for around 40 years.
Demotion equipment was parked outside of the home along with firefighters, who put out hotspots that flared up later in the morning.
Neighbors, like Paree Gallo, watched.
“I do hope they recover,” she said. “We’d like to get their information from maybe one of the neighbors so we can get some things together for them, like gift cards and just to kind of help them out.”
SAFD said the cause of the fire and where it originated are unknown. The investigation is ongoing.
This is the latest fire that SAFD crews responded to between Thanksgiving night and the morning of Black Friday.
At 10:40 p.m. Thursday, a fire broke out in the 1400 block of Ridgewood Court, near West Hildebrand Avenue and Interstate 10 on the Northwest Side.
According to a battalion chief, firefighters arrived to find a fire in a detached garage. The flames were contained in the garage, causing about $40,000 in damage.
Then, at 12:30 a.m. Friday, a fire broke out in the 300 block of SW 41st St, near West Commerce Street and South Acme Road on the West Side.
The flames were under an abandoned house, and firefighters had to tear up a floor to extinguish the flames, according to a battalion chief.
No injuries were reported in either of the fires. The causes are unknown at this time.
A fire was also reported at a home in Converse, causing $100,000 in damage on Friday morning. No one was at home at the time.