SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio fire investigators are trying to determine what caused a fire at a North Side apartment complex.
The fire broke out around 4 a.m. Tuesday in one building of the Tuscany Apartments, located in the 1200 block of Patricia.
“It was actually around the chimney, and when I got here, about a quarter of the roof was already on fire,” said Battalion Chief Brooke Hildreth of the San Antonio Fire Department.
Realizing they already were at a disadvantage, the crews that arrived first called a second alarm, bringing even more help to the scene, which included two platform trucks that were able to pour water on the fire from above.
“As soon as they started throwing water it went down very quickly,” Hildreth said.
The people who live in the building had made a quick escape.
Firefighters helped many of them make their way to a clubhouse at the apartment complex to get out of the cold and get assistance from the American Red Cross.
Hildreth said 12 of the 16 apartments in the building sustained damage, some of it extensive.
Fire investigators are looking into the cause of the fire.
Hildreth said they had some suspicions of how it may have started.
“It was very close to the fireplace,” she said. “I know a lot of people are trying to stay warm and having fires. But it’s under investigation.”