SAN ANTONIO — About 40 fire companies fought a massive fire in the abandoned Lone Star Brewery campus just south of downtown Saturday night. The crew from San Antonio Fire Department's Station 7, just about one mile from the blaze, was the first to arrive around 10:45 p.m.
They reported heavy fire through the roof and consuming the inside of the structure.
Fire Chief Charles Hood said seeing the destruction, the first crew immediately called for a second alarm.
Hood said the structure that burned was a large commercial building very near an even larger section of the complex, but they were able to keep the fire from jumping to the next structure.
"You can see the six or seven story structure that is behind it. We were able to get in between it, and cut that fire off because it probably would have gone to four alarms and we would have been out here about next week literally," Hood said.
Hood said because the buildings were marked by vandals and had clothing and other signs of people living on the abandoned campus, he was hopeful there would be no fire victims found in the structure. He said had it happened in February during the severe cold weather, it would have been a different outcome.
"When we had the freeze, we would have been rescuing dozens of homeless people, but the building was empty. It was vacant," Hood said, adding that when the building was declared safe, a secondary search would be made for anyone who might have been trapped inside.
Hood called the complex a nightmarish place for a big fire fight.
"Power lines are challenging for us. It's very hard for us to get our aerial platforms up. We're not going inside, so it's a defensive fire," Hood said.
Hood said the investigation into the cause of the fire would be underway as soon as it was safe for personnel to enter the structure.
San Antonio District 5 Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales checked out the aftermath.
“I went by this afternoon around noon and there were still firefighters on the scene, it was still smoldering,” Gonzales said.
Gonzales noted it’s not unheard of around the area where she lives, to experience fires taking over vacant buildings.
“Just within sort of the area where I live, we’ve lost about 7 or 8 homes to fires usually due to homeless people setting the fires. I don’t know that’s what happened here,” Gonzales said.
Gonzales is looking forward to the future of the Lone Star Brewery complex. A partnership between Midway and GreyStreet Partners announced in March, aims to turn the facility into a south town destination, which could include restaurants, shops, apartments, and other amenities.
“I think I’ve seen enough projects go bad that we know that if they can be a little bit smaller, they have more potential for success,” Gonzales said.