SAN ANTONIO – Three families are displaced after a large fire ripped through their apartments at a Southeast Side complex, according to San Antonio Fire Department.
Fire crews were called at 6 p.m., Saturday to the complex, located in the 4700 block of Stringfellow Street.
A 12-year-old boy said he was on the third floor with family members visiting his sister for her birthday when they began smelling and seeing thick smoke.
“The vent just started smoking so we opened the vent, like the closet, and it was just like a pipe. The smoke was coming up,” he said.
He evacuated everyone inside the apartment, ran downstairs and once they arrived to the second floor, he saw flames around the frame of an apartment door.
“I kicked the door in just to like make sure nobody was in there and then somebody ran in,” he said.
He said the person who ran in did not find anyone inside.
When firefighters arrived, they saw heavy fire coming through the second-floor windows and aggressively began attacking the flames, according to SAFD Battalion Chief Tony Rodriguez.
Everyone in the apartment building was evacuated, and no injuries were reported.
Firefighters were able to get control of the flames within about 15 minutes, Rodriguez said.
Three units were heavily damaged by water, smoke and flames, displacing three families, SAFD said. The Red Cross is assisting those families in finding other places to stay.
SAFD is still working to determine the cause of the fire at this time. The investigation continues.