Dozens of Fort Worth firefighters responded to contain a multiple alarm fire at Hulen Mall on the city's south side Friday night.
Firefighters were dispatched to the two-level mall just after 7 p.m. for reports of a fire with 9-1-1 callers reporting explosions and a possible roof collapse.
"With heavy smoke visible while they were responding, our incident commander called for a second alarm right away to ensure the proper resources were responding," Fort Worth Fire Department Spokesman Craig Trojacek told Firehouse.com.
Firefighters arrived to find fire showing from the roof of the building with workers and patrons evacuating the structure.
"As crews arrived, we split them up to work on the roof and inside the mall to determine what was burning and to stop the flames from spreading," Trojacek said.
A connection was made to supply the sprinklers and two aerial were set up to give firefighters access to the roof. Additional hoselines were stretched to the interior and firefighters brought in ground ladders to access the burning areas above the stores.
A third alarm was called and canceled because firefighters were able to get the fire knocked down once they had access to it.
On the interior and exterior, firefighters opened up the structure to check for fire spread.
The fire was under control by 8:10 p.m. and crews remained on scene until 11 p.m.
Trojacek said command call for the city's high-output fan truck, which they set up on the outside to help evcuate smoke from the building.
One person sustained minor injuries.
The cause of the fire is under investigation but it appears to have started on the roof.
Earlier this week, they battled a six-alarm fire in a sprawling, two-building apartment complex that left more than 800 displaced.
