SAN ANTONIO – A woman and her dog have died as a result of a fire that broke out in their North Side apartment Thursday morning.
San Antonio firefighters responded to a call for help at the Star Club Apartments, located in the 8800 block of Starcrest Drive, shortly after 9 a.m.
They quickly found out that the fire in a ground floor unit already had a head-start.
“There were flames that were shooting out of all the windows, lapping up to the second floor,” said Chief Charles Hood with SAFD.
Hood said fire crews had to take a tactical approach, known as resetting the fire, in order to prevent more loss.
“We put a line in the window, knocked that fire down, made it more tenable for our units to go in,” he said.
When firefighters were able to get inside, they found the woman down on the floor in a hallway.
Hood said his crews tried frantically to revive her, but were unable to do so.
The woman, who was in her 60s, died at the scene.
He said they also found her dog, dead inside the apartment.
At the same time, firefighters had to focus on preventing other losses. They evacuated everyone from the building.
Hood said people in three other apartments most likely would be displaced due to water, smoke or fire damage in their homes.
Members of the American Red Cross arrived at the apartment complex to assist them in finding other accommodations.
Hood said his crews were not able to determine the cause of the fire right away, but an arson unit will investigate.