Crews Battle Warehouse Fire In Grand Prairie
GRAND PRAIRIE (CBSDFW.COM) - Firefighters in Grand Prairie battled a stubborn four-alarm warehouse fire on Tuesday morning. The incident was first reported late Monday night in the 1000 block of Post & Paddock Lane, at a building in the Pitney Bowes Industrial Complex.
The initial call came to authorities at 7:45 p.m. Monday night, when someone reported smoke pouring from the warehouse. The fire's intensity quickly increased, requiring some assistance by fire departments from Irving, Dallas and Arlington. The smoke could be seen over Highway 360 and Interstate-20.
The 400,000 square foot, 800 foot long warehouse did have a sprinkler system that was working when fire crews arrived on the scene, but it clearly was not enough to keep the fire contained. The roof of the building collapsed at about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, followed by a wall at about 5:00 a.m. Tuesday morning. Several explosions were reported from the within the fire.
According to the Grand Prairie Fire Department, the actual warehouse that was destroyed by this fire stores empty aluminum cans for Monster Energy Drinks, which are wrapped in a plastic. Given the contents of the warehouse and the fact the blaze soon spread to a mail distribution center, the amount of highly combustible material inside made the fire difficult to control. "I think it probably was the contents, the actual product that was in there and then the size of this building," explained grand Prairie Fire Chief Clif Nelson.
Despite the size and intensity of the flames, crews were able to get the blaze contained. The fire is still expected to burn for several days, and officials will remain at the warehouse to ensure that none of the hotspots grow out of control. The building is expected to be a total loss. Demolition will begin late Tuesday. No toxicity issues are expected to arise from this incident, but environmental personnel will continue to monitor local air and water quality until the entire situation is resolved.
And thankfully, there have been no reports of injuries to the 60 firefighters who arrived on the scene or building employees who were evacuated from the warehouse at about midnight. The cause of the fire is not yet known, but the Grand Prairie Fire Department said that it originated in the now-collapsed aluminum can storage area.
"Wading out from the collapse felt like quick sand," said Nelson in a press release. "Everyone got out safely, our equipment did what it was supposed to do, our personnel worked together to ensure the safe evacuation of the team."
