Fire breaks out in $107M TWU building under construction on Denton campus
A three-alarm fire broke out Thursday morning on the Texas Woman’s University Denton campus at the new Health Science Center building, the Denton Fire Department and university officials said.
Firefighters responded about 10 a.m. to the fire in the 700 block of Administration Drive at the new classroom building, which is still under construction, the fire department said.
The new Health Sciences building was set to open this fall, according to a news release from TWU.
Firefighters from Lewisville, Flower Mound, Aubrey and Highland Village assisted Denton firefighters with a heavy first responder presence.
In an update at about 10:45 a.m., authorities said that the fire was under control.
The fire started in the attic/roof area of the building, and the cause is under investigation.
No members of the construction crew were injured, but multiple firefighters were being treated on scene for heat exhaustion as temperatures reached about 150 degrees on the roof. Two firefighters were taken to local hospitals for further treatment.
The extent of the damage and how it will impact the building’s planned opening are still being assessed, university spokesperson Mathew Flores said.
“It’s still too early to tell, because it’s still an active scene, so we have to wait until the firefighters wrap up, and once they’re done, our construction people will be able to assess the damage and get a better idea for how long it may take,” he said on Thursday.
The building was not open, so no university staff or students were there when the fire started.
“The first day of classes is Aug. 25, and the building was set to open this fall,” Flores said.
Texas Woman’s University broke ground on the $107 million, 136,000-square-foot building in September 2023.
The Health Sciences Center will “serve as an inter-professional education facility linking students in the allied health fields with an emphasis on preparing them to serve in rural settings,” a university news release stated. “The building will expand health-related programming, community outreach, research and other activities at Texas Woman’s.”
The building will include labs, classrooms, collaborative workspaces, outdoor clinic sites and a teaching kitchen, as well as community health care clinics and student training spaces.
This story was originally published August 7, 2025 at 11:26 AM.