Workers, visitors, and residents in and around downtown San Antonio were inundated with smoke Tuesday after air ducts between two restaurants in the Shops at Rivercenter caught fire.
Guests and staff of the adjacent Marriott Rivercenter hotel were evacuated and can go to the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center if they need a place to wait until the situation is resolved, said Woody Woodward, public relations manager for the San Antonio Fire Department. Most of the shopping mall was also evacuated.
SAFD is still investigating what caused the three-alarm fire, and it’s unclear how long it will take to extinguish, Woodward said. “At this point we’re chasing that fire through the duct work and we’ll see what happens from here.”
The fire started around 11:45 a.m. somewhere between Tony Roma’s and Luciano restaurants, he said.
More than a dozen San Antonio Fire Department trucks were deployed to the scene, bringing the fire, police, and EMS unit total to 45. Witnesses did not report seeing any flames outside the building.
Alex Rivera, who works at Luciano, told the Rivard Report he saw the fire start in Tony Roma’s kitchen vent.
No injuries have been reported so far.
