FORT WORTH, Texas — Newly-obtained 911 calls from the scene of the Sandman Signature Hotel explosion in downtown Fort Worth provided new details and another perspective of the scene that day.
WFAA obtained the audio following the blast on Jan. 8, as witnesses called in reporting what they saw to first responders. One of the calls came from a woman who said she was stuck on the elevator inside the Sandman Signature Hotel.
"We are stuck in an elevator filled with smoke ... on fire ... we are at the hotel, please hurry," the woman said. "Please hurry."
"OK, I'm trying to get your address real quick, " the 911 operator responded.
"It's 800 Houston Street or something like that," the woman said.
During the conversation between the 911 operator and the woman who called, you can hear the elevator beeping in the background.
"You said there was smoke in the –," the 911 operator asked.
"Yes, in the elevator," the woman interjected.
The elevator opened moments later, according to the woman on the call, and they were able to get out.
Other 911 calls came from people who saw the explosion from the outside of the hotel. One of the callers told 911 he saw the explosion from far away, saying he heard a "big, big loud bang."
"Yeah, there's a lot of smoke, there was an explosion ... I don't know, the restaurant exploded something ... I don't know if it was the restaurant or the hotel," the man said. "I was far away, I just saw it explode."
"It came out of the building, there were pieces that came out of the building," a woman told 911. "It looks like the first floor, all of the windows are blown out. So, I'm not sure if it came from inside the building, but there were parts that flew everywhere outside of the building."
"Fire department, are you calling about the explosion downtown," the operator asked another caller.
"Yes," the woman responded. "It exploded. The Sandman Hotel exploded. We were sitting here and it just blew up. We don't know what caused it or anything."
"The debris is covering the street ... this is a big explosion," another man told 911.
Twenty-one people were injured in the explosion, including one man who has sued the hotel. There have been no confirmed fatalities from the explosion, officials said.
Last week, Atmos Energy said its equipment wasn’t to blame. Fort Worth Fire officials believe the explosion was gas-related, but haven’t officially determined gas was the cause.
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