Fire in Plano, Texas Likely Not Debris Related

Feb. 1, 2003
Fire officials are now saying its highly unlikely that a intense apartment fire in Plano, Texas is tied to falling debris from the Shuttle Columbia disaster, IBS affiliate NBC5 reported. explosion.
NBC5i Video:Plano Fire Thought Unrelated

Fire officials are now saying its highly unlikely that a intense apartment fire in Plano, Texas is tied to falling debris from the Shuttle Columbia disaster, IBS affiliate NBC5 reported.

Throughout the afternoon investigators on the scene and local media reported that due to the timing and circumstances surrounding the two-alarm blaze, it may have been related.

Shortly before 8.a.m. Plano's Engine 3 pulled out from its front ramp and reported heavy fire coming from an apartment bulding two blocks from the station, according to former Plano Fire Department training officer and Firehouse contributing editor Ron Moore.

"It probably unrelated, but they are treating it as possibly tied [to the shuttle accident] because of the timing more than anything," Moore said.

Moore said the fire involved an older apartment building. A full fire assignment consisting of four engine companies, two ladder trucks, two chiefs responded. Due to the potential nature of the fire, additional hazardous materials units were dispatched and remain on the scene hours later.

In the first few minutes of the fire attack, one of the firefighters fell through a section of the stairwell. A mayday was activated. A second alarm was called for immediately, Moore said, because of the mayday.

The firefighter was able to escape under his own power and was not injured. The fire was intense in an area of the apartment complex. Television images showed the roof burned off part of the structure.

At the same time of the incident, almost every company in the city was responding to reports of explosions in the area.

"People heard the sonic boom from the [shuttle] explosion, and because of how loud it was they thought it was something near their homes," Moore said.

Federal authorities were on the scene and actively involved in the investigation at the scene and the area remained cordoned off Saturday afternoon.

Other than the timing of the fire and its proximity to the blast noise, there was no confirmation this incident is specifically related to the shuttle incident, officials said. NBC5 reported crews still had yet to fully investigate the structure to completely rule it out late Saturday afternoon.

Plan is a bit northwest of where most reports of where the Columbia debris trail began. Other reports of fallen debris were unfounded, NBC5 reported.

Television news reports showed images from near Nacogdoches, Texas of grass and field fires, also possibly related to flaming debris from the Shuttle tragedy.

Inside Our Coverage

Related

Voice Your Opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Firehouse, create an account today!