A fire broke out in a vacant apartment at The Cottages at San Marcos, a student apartment complex on Craddock Avenue, Tuesday, Aug. 20.
The San Marcos Fire Department (SMFD) and South Hays Fire Department responded to the incident, with a San Marcos deputy fire marshal arriving on the scene just four minutes after 911 received a call at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.
In a written interview with The Star, Robert Dallimore, a fire engineer with SMFD, said the fire took place in apartment 6115, which was being used for storage. No injuries were reported as no residents lived in that apartment.
“The investigation is still open, however, the fire appears to have been accidental in nature,” Dallimore wrote. “Fire started in the kitchen and was caused by combustibles stored on the stovetop. One of the stovetop burners was found to be on.”
The fire spread was possibly fueled by the furnishings stored in the unit, including mattresses, tables and chairs.
“These materials could have had a significant impact on the fire growth potential,” Dallimore wrote.
The fire ventilated itself out the first-floor windows and began to spread to the second floor of apartment 6115 when firefighters arrived, according to Dallimore.
Dallimore said the first suppression unit arrived on scene at 10:38 a.m. and the fire was completely extinguished by 11:32 a.m.
An SMFD fire inspector was already at The Cottages at San Marcos conducting an inspection on Tuesday. Dallimore said the inspector was able to arrive at the affected unit in building six quickly.
Members of the San Marcos Police Department (SMPD) assisted the fire department with vehicle traffic and crowd control, according to Dallimore.
“The first arriving fire crews established an incident command structure early, which allowed crews to respond with appropriate resources and attach the fire, preventing the need to evacuate nearby structures,” Dallimore wrote.
The extent of damages in the apartment is unknown.
In a Facebook post Tuesday morning, SMPD wrote the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
“As a precaution, we ask that the public avoid the area while the San Marcos Police and Fire Departments investigate the cause of the fire,” SMPD wrote on Facebook.
