State Investigators Look Into Balch Springs Pallet Fire
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BALCH SPRINGS (CBSDFW.COM) - A team of investigators from the state fire marshal's office is set to arrive Sunday morning to try to figure out what caused a North Texas pallet company and neighboring auto repair shop to go up in flames.
The fire marshal said because of both the size of the area to cover and the substantial loss of property, a team of state investigators will be doing an extensive investigation, and firefighters will be there around the clock to secure the scene.
With just enough time to save a few cars from the flames, it's the burned out vehicles customers left out front of his repair shop that haunt Jimmy Haar.
"She dropped it off late last night at 5:30, six o'clock. I was going to do brakes on that," Haar said pointing out one of the burned vehicles.
While each of his customers may have lost a single car, his own loss after 37 years in business is much worse.
"My livelihood, everything I got is this. I've lost everything," Haar said.
Haar first saw the flames from the roof of neighboring Texas Pallet just before 7:00 p.m. Friday night as he was leaving to go home.
Doing business next door to stacks of wooden pallets is something he's long dreaded because it makes easy fuel for a small fire to grow quickly.
"In the back of my mind with all them pallets the way they were, the way it was set up, I knew if it ever went up, they could never get it out," Haar said.
Balch Springs Fire Marshal Sean Davis said back in 2015 he found code violations at Texas Pallet for stacking pallets within 10 feet of the property line and for excess buildup of debris.
However, Davis said the owner made the recommended changes and was compliant at the most recent inspection.
Now the real question for investigators is what started the fire.
That's something Haar would like to know as he struggles to figure out his next move.
"I got friends. I'll survive someway. I am a survivor," Haar said.
The investigation team is expected to begin work around 10:00 a.m. Sunday morning and work throughout the day with the possibility of continuing through Monday.
