Large Fort Worth commercial fire took over 70 firefighters to tame
Over 70 firefighters worked for two hours to put out a commercial fire at a fiberglass manufacturing warehouse in north Fort Worth, according to the Fort Worth Fire Department.
Firefighters responded to a large commercial building, described as “roughly half the width of a football field and as least as long,” at about 2:15 p.m. on Thursday, July 16.
After the first crew was dispatched, it came to their attention that someone was stuck inside the building. Upon arrival at the structure at the 5800 block of Egg Farm Road, they had to call for another alarm due to the size of the building and severity of the fire.
According to the Fort Worth Fire Department, the employees working in the warehouse made the initial 911 call. After the Fire Department did a sweep of the building to ensure that it was empty, and the company working there did a headcount, they began fighting the fire solely from the outside.
Firefighters said they did this because the structural integrity of the building was compromised, with the roof already beginning to collapse.
The firefighters faced additional challenges due to the intense summer heat, and chemicals and propane tanks stored in the warehouse.
The incident commander then called for a third alarm so that the crews could be rotated to ensure they were hydrated and checked out by EMS.
Hazmat technicians also arrived on the scene to monitor the air quality and water runoff. Their readings of both were “normal,” meaning there was no threat to the public, according to the Fire Department.
The City of Fort Worth Code Compliance team was called along with heavy equipment from Transportation/Public Works Storm Water. The equipment was brought so firefighters could get water on the fire without debris in the way.
The Fire Department said that no firefighters were harmed, and that crews stayed on the scene into the night to monitor the situation.
It took around 75 firefighters and two and half hours to put the fire out. This investigation is ongoing and the cause of the fire is unknown at this time.
