Mineral Wells Area News

An overnight blaze required multiple fire departments to contain, no injuries reported

A fast-moving fire destroyed two small structures and damaged three others in Santo early Tuesday morning, according to fire officials.

The blaze, reported around 12:21 a.m. on March 25 in the 100 block of East Palo Pinto Street, prompted multiple 911 calls that initially mobilized fire crews from Santo and Brazos stations.

As additional calls indicated multiple structures were involved, officials escalated the incident to a first-alarm structure fire and dispatched additional units from Lone Camp along with a duty chief.

Engine 13 from Santo arrived to find multiple outer buildings fully engulfed in flames threatening nearby residences. Crews immediately began aggressive offensive operations to protect exposure structures and requested additional resources.

Battalion 1 took command upon arrival, and at 12:43 a.m., a second alarm was requested due to fire intensity and no response from the Lone Camp station. This brought additional resources from Palo Pinto and Gordon stations, along with the County Fire Marshal.

Firefighters from multiple departments including Santo, Brazos, Gordon, Palo Pinto, Strawn, Hood County Station 70, and Parker County Brock-Dennis worked together on an interior attack focusing on structure protection and exposure control. Fire officials reported that the blaze was brought under control by 1:05 a.m. and completely extinguished by 1:59 a.m.

Despite the quick response, two small structures were declared a total loss. One adjacent structure sustained moderate damage while two others had limited damage, according to officials. Importantly, the fire was contained to the small structures and did not spread to the main houses.

Chief Danny Watkins credited the quick and aggressive tactics of initial arriving companies with limiting the spread of the fire to nearby buildings.

No injuries were reported in the incident, which lasted approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes from the first 911 call. The cause of the fire is under investigation.