Cause of Christmas day Fire remains Unknown
AUSTIN, Texas - Members of the Jollyville Fire Department who clocked in Tuesday morning were at the Hendrix apartment complex. They were brought there by Fire Chief John Kiracofe.
"Give those fellows that are coming on today an opportunity to look at the building, this is what we did, what do you see, what could we have done, what are your thoughts,” said Chief Kiracofe.
The walk through is a step in a larger after-action review.
"And we will sit down and discuss, what went good and what went bad,” Chief Kiracofe.
The review includes what was recorded by a resident moments after the first fire trucks arrived. Two firefighters - seen on the second floor were starting what’s called an Interior Attack and searching for residents- when part of a ceiling collapsed briefly cutting them off. At that moment Chief Kiracofe was out front and says only one thing came to mind.
"Get them out of there. At that point I didn't want any fire fighters in that building,” Chief Kiracofe.
The blow out - according to the Chief happened when a section of the apartment was opened. That provided fresh air to fire smoldering deep in the walls and flooring. The Chief said he had no idea a monster was alive and moving through the building.
“No, at that time no, but as soon as they pulled the line up, and opened up that ceiling over the second floor balcony that’s when we had active fire,” Chief Kiracofe.
It was the moment when the strategy changed from Attack to Defensive.
"We will review the videos, that we have seen, some of the residents over there did take some very good videos that we will use for training,” Chief Kiracofe.
The videos have already helped investigators trace the path of the fire allowing them to rule out an electrical short and mechanical malfunctions as the cause. They also know the fire was able to move quickly because when the complex was constructed the building code did not require a sprinkler system or multiple fire breaks. The Chief tells FOX 7 when the rebuild take place, a sprinkler system will be included in the building. For the families who lost everything to this fire, the idea of recovery is still something hard to imagine.
"Never thought this would happen on Christmas Day. Never could imagine not in my wildest dreams,” said Whitney Cole who was visiting her sons when the fire erupted.
They lived in Building 9 and were back Tuesday trying to salvage what they could, but fire consumed everything including their Christmas presents.
"Lost, just lost, torn up, don't know what to do,” said Cole.
A work crew spent the afternoon securing the building with plywood and fencing. Structural engineers will decide if all of Building 9 will have to be torn down.