A fire destroyed the home of five Brownwood residents late Tuesday night. The home was located in the 1500 block of Waco Street and was considered a total loss.
The call reporting the fire came in at 11:42 p.m. according to Fire Marshal Buddy Preston. He stated that the home was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived, with flames shooting out of the front and east sides of the home. The cause of the fire had not been determined as of Wednesday morning.
Preston reported that two women and three men, who were all in some way related, lived in the home. All of the occupants were able to escape the fire, including the home owner who is disabled and in a motorized chair, according to Preston.
He stated that although he had not yet determined the cause of the fire, he found the carport to be the area where the fire had started. There were multiple propane tanks outside the home, including one in the carport which had a rubber hose going into a bedroom, one on the opposite side of the house with a gas flex hose which was connected to the living area, three behind a shed and two other propane tanks in the backyard. The propane was being used for heating the house which did not have gas service active, according to Preston.
“Propane is illegal inside the city if you have access to gas service,” explained Preston. “It appeared they had the propane tanks hooked up for heating the home. Propane tanks have no regulators and the gas is very volatile, sinking to the low spots, such as underneath the house which becomes very dangerous.”
Initial reports indicated there was a small explosion; however, Preston stated that he has not found evidence of such, none of the propane tanks had evidence of having exploded.
City code officials were also present at the house on Wednesday morning and stated that the home was the site of several code violation and search warrant which was executed earlier this month. The home had code violations related to fuel storage, open storage of debris, along with structural and plumbing violations, according to code enforcement officials. The home had been cited as a substandard structure and the owner had been given a period of time to correct the issues, however, the fire occurred before that time had elapsed.
The homeowner did not have insurance. Red Cross assisted the family with housing and immediate needs, Preston said.
Above and below are photos of the damaged home.
Fire Marshal Buddy Preston investigates the scene of the fire.
Preston and code enforcment walk through the damaged home.
