Atmos’ 4-hour response time stalled efforts to beat Cantina Cadillac bar fire, report says
Firefighters in Fort Worth were unable to quickly extinguish the fire that ravaged the Cantina Cadillac bar on Aug. 5 because it took Atmos four hours to shut off gas to the nightclub building, according to a fire department report.
A leak in a gas line to the historic building in the Fort Worth Stockyards continuously reignited the fire that Saturday night, leading to more resources being called to the scene and hazardous conditions for firefighters, according to the report obtained by the Star-Telegram.
Atmos did not respond to a Star-Telegram request for comment.
The four-hour response time also forced firefighters to take a defensive approach to the fire, trying to protect other buildings rather than making efforts to save the historic building in which the bar is housed, according to the report. Those efforts were ultimately successful as the report says it was the only building damaged.
The cause of the fire is still undetermined, according to a portion of the report written by an arson investigator, but it does not appear to have been started intentionally by anyone.
According to the bar owner, there were 15 people inside the building who were evacuated, and nobody was injured.
Jay Hester, the owner of the bar for the last 40 years, told the Star-Telegram shortly after the fire that he plans to reopen the bar within the next six months. According to the Cantina Cadillac’s Facebook page, efforts to restore the bar for reopening are underway.
This story was originally published August 24, 2023 at 4:07 PM.