SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio firefighters worked for over an hour Monday afternoon to contain a large house fire on the Northwest Side.
Flames could be seen from the roof of a two-story home in the 7600 block of Susan Elaine on Monday afternoon.
SAFD believed the fire started in a gazebo attached to the house and then moved to the attic. However, a cause for the fire has yet to be determined.
“Once it got hold of the attic, then we were in a pretty good battle,” an SAFD battalion chief said.
The fire caused crews to take a defensive approach, deploying exterior hoses and an aerial stream.
A significant buildup of contents in the attic prevented crews from getting around to extinguish the fire.
The battalion chief clarified that while they referred to the conditions in the home as a hoarding situation, the categorization is used anytime a heavy content buildup impedes progress.
Because of the contents inside the home, firefighters had trouble locating stairs to the second floor.
After over an hour, crews were able to get the fire under control, but the battalion chief said the home was likely a loss due to significant damage to the roof.
“I think it’s safe to say that it’s gonna be a total loss ... when you add it all up, I think you’re gonna be calling it a total loss,” the battalion chief said.
The homeowner was not in the home at the time of the fire. SAFD said some pets likely died, but firefighters were not sure how many.
No other homes were damaged.
The City of San Antonio’s Public Works crew arrived on the scene later in the evening to likely demolish the home.