SAN MARCOS, Texas – Brian Frizzell is working on a documentary “The Weight of Ashes” through his company HFM Productions.
The film is about the grief that he experienced after losing his sister, Haley Frizzell, in a deadly arson fire at the Iconic Village Apartments in San Marcos in 2018.
Frizzell’s best friends suffered life-altering burns in the blaze. He wanted to document all of their experiences for those who were impacted by the fire.
“My best friend’s family as well and his struggles, not only with his physical capabilities, but also his mental capabilities, and just the fact that he survived when everyone else in the apartment died,” he said.
A total of 5 people died in the fire that was deemed arson, and so far no one has been arrested.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, City of San Marcos and private donors are offering a $110,000 reward for information that could lead to an arrest and conviction.
The Hays County Crime Stoppers announced this month a $1,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest.
The making of the film started in 2020, but Frizzell says it’s taken time because it’s so personal and there’s a lot of emotions that everyone experiences when they are recounting what happened. The 73-minute film should be done in the next six months to a year. Frizzell hopes he can start promoting it for sale on streaming services where many people can view it with the end result of getting the tips needed to make an arrest.
“It was always about getting justice, having someone see it, someone that knows something, them coming forward to help us out,” he said. “And over time it became a space to give people to talk about their feelings have it be out there.”