Storage unit goes up in flames in three alarm fire

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Firefighters battled a three-alarm blaze at a storage facility in southwest Houston Monday morning.

Crews were called to the Great Value Storage Facility in the 9900 block Harwin at South Gessner just after 6:15am. Just over an hour later, they pulled a third alarm, calling for additional help.

"The top has a metal and concrete roof, so the only way to gain access to it is through an alley," said HFD Senior Captain Ruy Lozano. "Storage facilities are always dangerous. We never know what's stored. Traditionally they're stacked from ground to ceiling. It makes it difficult."

"When I opened the door, there was no fire. When I opened the door, the unit was dark," said storage unit renter Dwayne Foot. "I saw burning embers on the floor and then the fire leaped out at me."

There is no word on what caused the fire, but firefighters say it started in one of the lower units before moving to a unit above and then spreading quickly.

No injuries were reported. Contents of several customers' storage units were destroyed.