An early morning fire at an affordable housing facility for the elderly caused the evacuation of 30 residents and the death of one person in downtown San Antonio on Tuesday.
The fire’s cause is still being investigated.
The San Antonio Fire Department got reports of a fire at 1:42 a.m. When crews arrived, SAFD spokesman Woody Woodward said they determined the fire was small and started on a unit on the third floor.
The resident who lived in the unit where the fire occurred was transported to the San Antonio Military Medical Center with smoke inhalation and burns, and died later at the hospital.
The residents were evacuated and the fire was put out in 20 minutes, Woodward said.
Opportunity Home San Antonio, formerly the San Antonio Housing Authority, confirmed the fatality following the fire at its Villa Hermosa Apartments, an affordable housing community with 69 residents on North Flores Street in San Antonio’s downtown core.
Violeta Rodriguez was sleeping in her apartment when she heard the fire alarm sounding. At the same time, her cell phone notified her that someone was at her video doorbell. It was her neighbor, Henry Macias, warning Rodriguez there was a fire and that they needed to get out.
When they got downstairs, Rodriguez said a large crowd of people had already evacuated from the 66-room building and were waiting across the street in front of the restaurants along North Flores Street.
She didn’t see a fire, but saw and smelled plenty of smoke.
Later Tuesday morning, the smell of smoke was still pungent from the parking lot on North Flores and Salinas streets. Inside the building, construction workers used saws to cut wood to repair broken doors that firefighters caved in to evacuate residents. Downstairs in the lobby, another worker repaired water damage.
The room where the fire started was the only unit that had major damage, SAFD said, and some units nearby had water and smoke damage.
The evacuated residents returned to their rooms once they were given the all-clear by SAFD, except for three residents who were moved to a hotel temporarily and another resident, who may need relocation to a new unit due to damage in their units, Opportunity Home San Antonio spokesman Brance Arnold said.
“Property management is assisting with relocation and providing food and water. Red Cross will provide counseling services to the residents,” Arnold said.
The neighbor who died in the fire was known for being a helpful man in the building, Rodriguez said. He used a wheelchair, and he always helped carry things for people upstairs on his lap, she said.
Opportunity Home has not released the name of the resident killed in the fire.
“People here are very friendly, very helpful, all of us,” Rodriguez said. “I’m sad he’s gone.”
The Opportunity Home spokesman said the apartment building was up to code and said the organization regularly conducts fire safety trainings in case of a fire.
The last training was in March of 2022, he added.
