SAN ANTONIO – Twenty-two storage units on the city’s North Side were destroyed after going up in flames Friday afternoon, according to the San Antonio Fire Department.
The fire happened at a storage unit facility in the 17800 block of Blanco Road.
According to San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood, it’s unclear what caused the fire, but no injuries were reported.
As of around 3 p.m., fire crews were pulling items out of the effected storage units to make sure nothing else is still burning or smoldering.
Hood said the cleanup is “labor intensive” and that HAZMAT crews are also on scene, given that vehicles, pool chemicals, pesticides and other items were found in some of the units that could be hazardous.
A man working next to the storage units, Jeffery Allen, told KSAT throughout the entire fire he could smell burning plastic, rubber, and other bad odors from inside his store nearby.
“I counted four fire trucks and like three police cars and I heard ambulances... Personally, I’ve never seen anything like that and you can still kind of smell it in the air a little bit,” said Allen.
One couple, Mike and Peggy Cerny, said they had their belongings in one of the destroyed units but had taken everything out a month ago.
“We had a really nice Dodge Charger in one of the units last month and we just decided to pull it out and we no longer have a storage unit fortunately.”
The incident has sparked concerns as the city and county await a cold front early Saturday that could pose high fire risks.
Further details are limited at this time. We’ll bring more updates as they become available.