SAN ANTONIO — The name of an 80-year-old man killed in an early-morning house fire in Beacon Hill hasn’t been released, but family members know the awful truth.
Firefighters say that while the man was trapped in an upstairs room when the fire broke out, his wife, who was downstairs, managed to escape. Neighbors say family members who live immediately next door told firefighters the man was inside the home.
The call for help sounded around 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday along the 1000 block of West Summit, near Blanco and Hildebrand.
“When crews got here, there was heavy fire coming from a well involved structure," said San Antonio Fire Department spokesman Joe Arrington. "We attempted to make an interior attack because of reports of one person inside. Crews made a valiant effort to get inside, but unfortunately the fire was so well involved, it forced us out.”
Fire ate through the 100-year-old home quickly, and before firefighters could make it inside there were reports that parts of the building were not stable—and too dangerous for firefighters to enter.
SAFD Chief Charles Hood said the area where the victim was found had excessive amounts of personal property that provided an intense fuel load.
Fire investigators believe the blaze sparked when something flammable came into contact with a space heater.
“Early indications are that this is related to a space heater. We talk about it all the time," Arrington said. "We talk about fire safety. We talk about our SCAN program. We talk about our senior safety. Again, this is obviously a preventable tragedy. It's a rough morning."
In addition to the loss of one home, firefighters deployed an aerial ladder to save a second home just a few feet away. But it, too, was starting to smoke from the intense heat.
Hood said while every loss is tragic, this is the second recent death from a house fire. An unidentified woman died at a home in the 2100 block of Monterey on March 17.
Fire officials encourage everyone, especially those with elderly relatives, to learn more about their SCAN initiative to prevent house fires and save lives:
- S – Smoke detectors
- C – Clear path of escape
- A – Action plan
- N – Neighbors watch out for neighbors.
They encourage anyone who needs a free smoke detector to ask for one by calling the United Way Helpline at 2-1-1. A help form can be found here.
More help can be obtained by emailing FireSafeSA@sanantonio.gov.