SAN ANTONIO – It took only a matter of minutes for an Alamo Heights man and his father to lose a home that they had occupied for more than half a century.
Mike Dyer said his 90-year-old father was the first to notice something odd -- a popping noise -- around 3 a.m. Friday.
“We walked around the house, didn’t see anything but we noticed that a breaker had popped on the electrical panel,” he said.
Dyer didn’t think much of it until he began to notice smoke coming from the attic of his home located in the 500 block of College Boulevard.
That’s when Dyer called 911 and got out along with his father.
“Within about 10 minutes, there was black smoke coming out of the attic, and then there were flames shooting out of the roof,” Dyer said.
The flames wouldn’t quickly die even after firefighters arrived. They were still pouring water on the home more than three hours later.
As it turned out, the fire wouldn’t be the only concern for firefighters.
They also found out there was ammunition inside the home, dangerously close to the fire.
“It was old hunting gear in a closet locked away,” Dyer said. “It sounds like some of that stuff cooked off.”
Fortunately, no one was injured by that or the fire.
Neighbors were able to take care of Dyer’s father temporarily and watch over a few items that they salvaged from the home.
As firefighters worked to make sure the fire was out, Dyer stood by, wondering aloud which of his possessions had been destroyed.
“I’m OK. My dad’s OK. The firefighters are OK. Everybody’s good,” he said, remaining upbeat.
Still, he couldn’t help but notice that this fire was just the latest on a list of things to go wrong lately.
In the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, he also lost his home.
“2020′s been an interesting year,” Dyer said, shaking his head.