Houston Fire Department confirms fire hydrants near warehouse blaze were not working
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Crews spent hours battling a large building fire in a northwest Houston warehouse that ignited Thursday morning.
The three-alarm fire happened at a warehouse on McAllister Road near Dacoma Street.
At about 8:30 a.m., SkyEye was above the scene, where large plumes of smoke could be seen from Highway 290.
WATCH: SKYEYE VIDEO SHOWS WAREHOUSE UP IN FLAMES
Eyewitness News spoke with Ben Riddle, who works across the street at North Side Electric Motors.
Riddle said one of their employees spotted smoke from vents coming from the Olympia Drywall Company warehouse and called 911.
"Our business is right across the street, so we're definitely feeling the heat. We started hearing pretty loud booms, structural supports going in that building. We went inside, shut our doors, and kind of waited it out. We're still in there working now. Thankfully, we still have power. We're definitely lucky," Riddle said.
"Early on, there was just a lot of smoke. There were not a lot of flames immediately. But kind of as it picked up, flames started bursting out of the vents. I think they opened the bay door on the back of the building because a lot of smoke started billowing out there," Riddle said.
It's unclear what led to the fire or the severity of the damage.
Houston Fire Department officials confirmed nearby fire hydrants were not working.
One firefighter was taken to the hospital for "heat exhaustion-type symptoms."
For more updates on this story, follow Shannon Ryan on Facebook, X and Instagram.
