‘Units on the way’: Fort Worth fire dispatch recordings detail Sandman explosion response
It’s been one year since an explosion ripped through downtown Fort Worth’s Sandman Signature Hotel, injuring multiple people and prompting a massive emergency response.
Radio dispatch recordings — released by the Fort Worth Fire Department on the anniversary of the event — give an inside look into what went on the afternoon of Jan. 8, 2024.
“Sandman Motel — we had an explosion, we do have injured people —” the dispatcher can be heard saying. “Several windows blown up. I’ll get a victim count for you as soon as possible.”
“We have multiple units on the way,” was the response.
When firefighters arrived at the hotel at 810 Houston St., they found blown out windows and walls on the first and second floors, massive amounts of debris in the street and the odor of natural gas in the area.
The different units can be heard discussing their plan to enter the basement and search for victims.
Other firefighters used ladders to look into rooms from the outside to make sure nobody was trapped inside.
The blast originated in kitchen of the basement-level Japanese restaurant Musume. The explosion caused part of the above floor to collapse, and it appears several of the victims were found in the basement.
“We’ve got confirmed victims in the basement,” someone from Truck 2 says. “We’re working on extrication right now.”
A little later someone calls for backboards and requests another company be sent to the basement.
“We’ve got two victims, at least one is not ambulatory,” they said.
Another unit was sent to the scene with backboards and other EMS equipment and told to help with patient extrication.
One firefighter says he has a patient in critical condition in the basement. He requests a backboard and a handheld saw.
“We’re walking one patient out,” he said.
“I need a hoseline down to the basement. We got an active fire,” somebody reported.
At some point Command requests another alarm and upgrades the event to a mass casualty incident.
Another firefighter asks where the triage area is and reports several patients at Throckmorton and 7th Street.
A total of 21 people were injured in the Sandman Hotel explosion. Some restaurant workers brought lawsuits against the hotel, Musume and Atmos Energy, alleging gross negligence. Employees said they smelled natural gas before the explosion and alerted management, but no evacuation was ordered.
One year later, the cause of the blast is still under investigation.
Less than a month after the explosion, the Fort Worth Fire Department stepped back from leading the investigation and turned control of the property over to the hotel’s owner, Northland Properties.
Thompson Coe, a Dallas-based law firm, is handling the investigation on behalf of Northland, fire department spokesperson Craig Trojacek confirmed to the Star-Telegram.
This story was originally published January 8, 2025 at 3:17 PM.
