SAN ANTONIO – A series of fires Monday morning are getting a close look from San Antonio Fire Department investigators.
The most damaging fire happened after 7 a.m. at an apartment complex in the 5300 block of NW Loop 410 near Evers Road.
Fire crews were called to the Amber Hill apartments, where they found fire on the patio of a ground-floor unit.
Before firefighters could put out the fire, the flames had blackened the balcony of an upstairs apartment, and the smoke had seeped into two other nearby units.
“Crews were able to get a search of the apartments really quickly,” SAFD Battalion Chief Jarrett Vocke said. “There were no residents trapped or injured in the apartments.”
Vocke said everyone in the apartments, including where the initial fire started on the patio, escaped safely.
Meanwhile, fire investigators moved in to try to find the cause of the fire; however, they quickly learned that the fire may not have been accidental or simply an isolated case.
“Overnight, they had several dumpster fires, not in the complex but in this vicinity of this area. Then, at the same time this fire was occurring, we had a fire across the street here,” Vocke said, pointing to an area beneath a Loop 410 overpass. “To me, it’s suspicious.”
Investigators, so far, have not identified who may have started the fires or why.
Firefighters said one family affected by the apartment fire had to find another place to stay, at least for now.
They said the ground-floor apartment sustained heavy smoke damage.
Vocke said that the other residents who temporarily evacuated their apartments should be able to return home.