HOUSTON --
A downtown high-rise building was evacuated after a three-alarm fire broke out on Tuesday, KPRC Local 2 reported.
A strange smell inside the 12-floor Binz building at 1001 Texas St. shortly after 9:20 a.m. prompted a call to Houston firefighters.
The first units to respond found smoke inside the building, ordered an evacuation and called second and third alarms for extra help.
"When we smelled it we made sure it was our area," employee Linda Ramirez said. "When we didn't see anything in our area, we called security and by the time she came up you could see the haze in the hallways."
Several employees said a general announcement was made over the intercom to get out of the building.
"An alarm came on, and it said, 'Get ready to evacuate. Stand by to take the stairs,'" employee Harry Scarborough said.
Investigators said the fire started in a data processing center on the building's 10th floor. Smoke spread throughout the building.
"Right now, our biggest issue is ventilation -- getting smoke out the building. (There are) no windows on the outside, so everything's got to go up through the roof jacks, through the stairwells," HFD Assistant Chief Tommy Dowdy said.
Electricity was shut off to the entire block. Some METRORail service was also shut down to allow firetrucks to have greater access to the scene.
The building was reopened by Tuesday afternoon.
No one was injured.
Employees said the building has regular fire and emergency drills. The last one was held on Friday.
