Just before 5:30 AM (Saturday, January 11, 2025) the Fort Worth Police Department put a call into the Fort Worth Fire Department Alarm Office concerning a commercial structure fire located in the 700 block of N. Main Street, just outside of downtown. When crews arrived on scene, they saw heavy fire showing from the first and second floors of the vacant structure. 

Firefighters know these buildings well—having fought a second alarm fire in the same building— not even two weeks ago, so operations went defensive, almost immediately. They knew that between the structural integrity of the building and the heavy fire conditions that there was no life that was sustainable inside. In the fire service we risk a lot to save a lot, but we risk a little to save a little. 

Even though the fire was incredibly large, it remained at a one alarm assignment with all firefighting objectives and needs being met with resources on hand from the original dispatch. There were three aerials (Tower 1, Truck 2 and Quint 12) were raised and flowed thousands of gallons of water every minute. Other crews pulled headlines to protect exposures into nearby buildings ,so we could protect everything that we could and keep the fire from spreading in the neighborhood businesses.

The fire was brought under control less than an hour. A few crews remained on scene well into the morning. There were no injuries  reported and the cause of this fire is under investigation.

Stay safe, #FortWorth .