SAN ANTONIO — It was 2:23 a.m. when the first San Antonio fire company rolled up to the EZ Pawn on Goliad Road at SE Military Drive and found smoke pouring from the eaves of the building from every side.
As they fought to gain access to the well-secured building, flames starting leaping into the night sky.
Twenty minutes into the fight, radio transmissions from the scene indicated firefighters decided to go defensive and fight the fire from outside the inferno.
As soon as news of the fire started to spread on social media, speculation started on the cause, with many people assigning blame to the many homeless people who take shelter around the building and the convenience store next door.
One man, who declined to give his name, said he is an 81-year-old who has been living on the streets for years.
He said San Antonio Police swept through the area and displaced everyone Thursday.
"People are mad! Yesterday the police came and ran them all away and this is the result of it, they had all their beds and mattresses and the police made them pack it all up and move out," the man said, adding "They won't let you sleep at night, you don't have a place to stay, these people have nothing and when you have nothing you have to get it some kind of way."
A fire official on the scene said it took well over an hour to contain the fire, as portions of the roof were collapsing.
Investigators have not yet announced a cause for the fire.
Because the structure was so badly damaged, demolition work started almost immediately, so that by first light, passersby found only a pile of rubble.
David Page was driving by the location with his window down and when he saw what was left of the building he screamed an expletive. "You'd probably have to bleep out what I said," Page exclaimed.
"I had a brand new nail gun there. They cost like $400 brand new," Page said, adding "I brought it in here a while back and got a little loan on it so I was going to come pick it up."
Page said employees assured him the business caries adequate insurance. "I'm not worried about it because I'm pretty sure I will be reimbursed."
Page said he is sure the loss to the company will be a big one. "Just the jewelry alone that they have, they have a lot of diamonds and gold, and I don't know how many guns they lost," Page said.
Nearby, the bed of a pickup truck was piled high with guns, all charred black and useless, while two large safes that appeared to be intact were loaded onto trucks to be hauled away to a secure location.
A steady stream of people who have business pending with the company stopped by a portable canopy in the parking lot where employees were taking notes and providing information.
A call to the corporate office yielded the following voicemail message:
"If you are calling about the store at 3003 Goliad, you may still call the location with any questions you may have."
Parent company EZCORP provided the following statement about the incident:
"The EZPAWN location at 3003 Goliad in San Antonio, TX suffered a major fire the morning of February 24, 2023. The store was closed at the time of the fire and no one was in the building. We are grateful to the San Antonio Fire Department who responded and extinguished the fire. We are working with local officials to evaluate the full impact and confirm the cause of the incident. At this time, we defer additional questions about the fire to the San Antonio Fire Department.
As for the impact this may have on our loyal customers, please know that we are committed to servicing and working with them throughout this incident."