This browser does not support the Video element.
Lightning sparks massive fire, destroys hotel
A lightning strike sparked a massive fire that destroyed an entire hotel in the town of Brady. The fire marshal has deemed the business a total loss. FOX 7 Austin's Jenna King reports.
BRADY, Texas - A lightning strike sparked a massive fire and destroyed a hotel in the town of Brady.
City officials say the fire spread quickly, keeping crews on scene for hours as they worked to get it under control.
What they're saying:
What should have been a busy Memorial Day and graduation weekend with 200 guests expected at the Brady Holiday Inn Express has now turned into a devastating loss for the community.
"We just heard this huge loud boom, and I mean it shook the whole place. You could hear it from miles away," said general manager Penny Adams.
On Thursday afternoon, Adams said she started getting calls and messages from her neighbors telling her something was wrong. When she walked outside, she didn’t see much smoke at first, but the building’s fire alarm was going off, so she immediately evacuated the hotel.
19 guests were registered at the hotel that day, but only five were inside when the fire broke out, including one guest on the third floor near where the lightning strike hit. Everyone made it out safely, and no injuries were reported.
"Even when the fire truck got there, it wasn't engulfed in flames. It was the fact that it was hard to reach. And so, then it started getting bigger and bigger. And then we started seeing the flames coming through the roof. And we knew, and I knew then that there was, it was a problem," said Adams.
A place Adams says has been part of her life for nearly 13 years is now reduced to rubble.
"We're watching our whole world burn down. My workers are with me and they're crying. Um, I've worked there for a really long time, and I have great people and, um, it was really devastating to not only us, but the community, the city of Brady," said Adams.
City manager James Stewart told the Brady Standard newspaper that the lightning strike hit the north side of the hotel’s roof near South Bridge Street around 3:45 p.m. Thursday afternoon.
He says the fire started in the attic before spreading into the third floor and moved quickly through the building.
"We got to it as quick as we could, we couldn't actually get through to the fire we got up into the attic and we couldn't find it so we had to go through the third floor and by then the fire had spread rather quickly. We had water on it from the get-go as much as we could, but once it broke through and really got going, we ended up pulling out everybody," said Stewart.
The Brady Fire Department, volunteer firefighters, and crews from surrounding counties responded to the scene.
The Texas State Fire Marshal has ruled the building a total loss due to the extensive fire, smoke, and water damage.
Firefighters spent hours pouring thousands of gallons of water on the fire to keep it from spreading further.
"I know for a fact we had two engines pumping between 5 and 800 gallons a minute so you're roughly looking at about a thousand to 150 gallons a minute for probably about a couple of hours putting water on this fire," said Stewart.
Dig deeper:
Stewart says the ladder truck responded from Brownwood. It didn’t arrive until around 6 p.m.
Adams believes if one had been there sooner, it could have made a difference.
"A lot of emotions are going through the town. Um, you know, whenever you see the firefighters get there, you think, okay, yay, they're there to save the day. And when they just don't have what they need, it didn't turn out that way," said Adams.
Stewart says a new ladder truck would cost around $2 million with thousands more each year in maintenance costs.
"I hope that something comes out of this and we're able to get the resources we need, the donations we need," said Adams.
What's next:
More thunderstorms are expected throughout central Texas starting tonight through the weekend.
Remember if thunder roars, go indoors.
Stay weather aware during this Memorial Day weekend. Track your local forecast for the Austin area quickly with the free FOX 7 WAPP.
The design gives you radar, hourly, and 7-day weather information just by scrolling. Our weather alerts will warn you early and help you stay safe.
You can also keep an eye on low water crossings and road closures at atxfloods and DriveTexas.org.
The Source: Information in this report comes from FOX 7 Austin's reporting partner the Brady Standard Newspaper and reporting/interviews by FOX 7 Austin's Jenna King.