SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio's code enforcement division is going after an emergency demolition order to tear down the remains of some buildings that burned Tuesday morning along the 2800 block of Mission Road, just south of Southcross.
The fire, which was called in just before 2 a.m., raced through a compound of buildings and gave first responders a fight. The fire incident commander said they had to dodge livewires and a tangle of sheds and shops with faulty electrical service to get the upper hand.
An SAFD spokesman said the damage was so intense that the cause of the fire is likely to remain undetermined.
Michael Shannon, director of the city's development services division, said what remains of the complex has to go.
"It's a dangerous situation," Shannon said. "So much so that we declared an emergency demolition. We'll be signing the affidavits today. That will start the clock."
Shannon said the property owner will have 96 hours to demolish what is left, or the city will bring in a contractor to get the job done and send the owner a bill.
"It has to be quickly. It's days, ot weeks or months," Shannon said.
Shannon said in addition to the damaged buildings, inspectors found other issues.
"As we're out there, we're also seeing some additional code violations, whether it be excessive junk and debris on the property, so that will be the next thing we address. But we have to get the emergency hazard out of the way," Shannon said.
Shannon said city building and fire codes can be life and death matters, especially in older neighborhoods where homes are closer together and the age of the structures makes them more vulnerable to fire damage.
"That's the main reason code enforcement exists: to protect people and property," Shannon said. "The safety of our residents is the No. 1 goal of code enforcement. That's what we do all day, every day."
Shannon said they encourage everyone who sees something that could threaten their home to say something.
"If you have something next to you or on your street or your neighborhood, we want you to call 311, give us a description of what it is and it will end up on a code officer's list to inspect and try to correct that violation," Shannon said.
The code enforcement division can be reached on their website.