A fire company returning from a previous call spotted a fire that eventually that ripped through a century-old building in the Fort Worth Stockyards Saturday night.
The fire spread from the basement to the top floor and roof of the four-story Cantina Cadillac building, located at West Exchange and Ellis Avenue, just a block from the famous Fort Worth Stockyards signs. The building, which was constructed in 1908, had a bar occupying the first floor with AirBnB living areas on an upper floor.
"In the fire service it’s tough anytime you lose a building to fire," Fort Worth Fire Engineer/PIO Craig Trojacek said. "We lost a page of Fort Worth’s history last night and at this time it is too soon to tell if new pages may be written in the same building."
The crew from Engine 12 spotted heavy fire conditions in the rear of the Cantina Cadillac building while they were returning to their station just a few blocks away around 8:15 p.m.
They radioed their discovery and arrived seconds later where they initiated fire attack efforts and cleared the building of workers and patrons. About 15 people escaped the bar uninjured.
Crews stretched handlines to multiple floors and Quint 12 was assigned to ventilate the roof when fire was discovered running the walls, and a second alarm was called.
Trojacek said firefighters faced several challenges during the incident, including poor water supply and traffic control issues.
A third alarm was called bringing 15 engines, seven trucks, five chiefs and multiple support units from Fort Worth, plus additional crews from River Oaks, Sansom Park, Saginaw and Lake Worth.
When conditions worsened, firefighters were pulled from the building and they transitioned to a defensive attack.
A tower ladder, quint and aerial platform were set up and flowed water into the building to darken down the flames.
As more firefighters arrived, hundreds of bar patrons, clubgoers and tourists lined the streets to watch as smoke, and eventually flames poured from the building.
Utility crews were able to shut the gas service off to the building after digging into a street to access the piping.
"There were no injuries or lives lost, but the overwhelming support and comments that continue to flow in to us from musicians, surrounding bars, bartenders, waitstaff, and business owners remind us of the 'livelihoods' that were saved because the fire was contained to the Cadillac itself and not allowed to spread to others nearby, Trojacek told Firehouse. "The quick actions of our members and help from surrounding departments helped preserve a bigger piece of history that could have been lost had this fire been able to advance any further.
With over 100 firefighters on scene, and temperatures hovering around 100 degrees at the time of the fire, a large rehabilitation area was set up and staffed by firefighters, Medstar crews and Fort Worth's Red Helmets - a group of volunteers who provide rehab and relief services.
The fire was placed under control in two hours and firefighters remained on scene overnight, dousing hot spots.
Investigators are looking at the building's gas or an electrical systems, with some bystanders telling fire officials they smelled gas before the fire was discovered.
