WHAT: 3-Alarm Manufacturing Plant/Warehouse Fire.
WHEN: May 20, 2023 at 4:22 a.m.
WHERE: 6218 Royalton St. 77081.
INJURIES: No reported injuries.
PROPERTY SAVED: $550,000 in estimated property saved.
DAMAGE: $1,250,000 in estimated damage.
CAUSE: HFD Arson investigators ruled the cause as accidental due to a heating element malfunction within a steel cleaning tank.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Firefighters arrived on scene to find a manufacturing plant/warehouse on fire and declared a defensive attack. HFD Hazardous Materials (Hazmat) as well as a second and eventually third alarm were requested. Structural stability was checked, and Rehab and EMS were on-scene. Multiple water supplies were established, and aerial streams were used to contain the fire. The nearby structures were checked and protected by crews as well.
Decontamination was set up for responding crews and a precautionary shelter-in-place was issued for a 1.5 square mile radius around the structure. The shelter-in-place was lifted at about 2 p.m. when the fire was controlled, and water operations stopped. Samples of runoff were taken several miles downstream of a nearby bayou and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and the City’s Public Works Drainage Operations were satisfied that runoff did not affect the bayou. HFD Arson investigators were requested to determine the cause and origin of the fire.
162 personnel responded to this incident from Stations 10, 28, 37, 51, 16, 2, 15, 8, 21, 59, 68, 83, 3, 17, 18, 19, 33, 38, 60, 69, 83, 11, 24, 6, 30, 57, Hazmat 22, Hazmat 66, Rescue 10 and the Village Fire Department.