Fort Worth Building Damaged After Fire

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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - Emergency crews in Fort Worth responded to a fire alarm at a 12-story building on Thursday morning. It happened at about 3:45 a.m. at the Mutual of Omaha Bank building, located in the 6300 block of Ridglea Place.

Firefighters arrived at the scene and found water leaking from the first-floor light fixtures. After further investigation, a small fire was found in a cabinet on the building's third floor. The flames were enough to start the building's automatic sprinkler system and set off the fire alarm.

Crews had the fire extinguished within about 10 minutes of its discovery.

After an extensive search of all floors, workers determined that the building was unoccupied at the time of the fire. The overnight cleaning crews had already left the premises, and there were no reports of injuries. Investigators determined that the fire was an accident.

Workers have now moved on to damage assessment. Fire crews helped clear smoke from the building and a contractor was brought in to assist with water removal. An estimate of the damages has not yet been released.

Robert Pike is a CPA with offices in the building. He said that the timing of the fire could not be worse, as the last weeks of March and start of April are busy days for tax preparers. Delays from the incident could put financial workers behind in their work.