Some 130 residents were evacuated from an apartment complex in Texas that later collapsed due to a massive fire. The fire teams who responded were greeted by frozen fire hydrants which greatly hampered their efforts.
Firefighters from the San Antonio Fire Department and various volunteer teams battled the blaze amid water shortages, pressure issues and freezing conditions.
The blaze started around 1 p.m. local time on Thursday and eventually spread to cars in the complex’s adjacent parking lot. The fire reportedly broke out on the second floor of the complex shortly after residents received an alert to turn off their water heaters.
Eyewitness footage from the scene shows the desperate circumstances in which fire crews were forced to operate, as the blaze consumed the building and they repeatedly ran out of water to fight it.
Prayers to everyone who lost their homes and a HUGE thank you to the firefighters in San Antonio and surrounding county fire departments for spending over 7 hours bringing water and trying to fight this pic.twitter.com/AwsNjlNwO5
Bidders from across the region, each carrying between 2,000 and 3,000 gallons of water, were called in to help fight the blaze and supply the firefighters at the scene, using a makeshift pool. However, these intermittent supplies were exhausted within minutes given the scale of the fire.
This is how firefighters spray water from above. ALL fire hydrants are frozen. Firefighters rely on water tankers, like this one, to bring water from nearby sources. pic.twitter.com/QCc7AYbAB7
The local fire department was already out of fire truck after a crew overturned their vehicle in the freezing conditions.
The cause of the fire remains unknown but no injuries were reported.
Water is expected to be restored to the area on Friday, but will arrive too late for the dozens of residents now displaced during the extreme cold snap that has hit Lone Star state in recent days.
At least 37 deaths have occurred in eight states, including 21 in Texas, during the recent cold snap. Some respite will come over the weekend, as temperatures are expected to stay above freezing.
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