A San Antonio, Texas, spa warehouse was totally destroyed in a massive fire resulting in $ 3-5 million in damages.
The Spa Crafters warehouse caught fire at about 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, August 18, filling the sky with a thick, black cloud of smoke, which was visible across three counties.
According to Joe Arrington, Public Information Officer for the San Antonio Fire Department, crews arrived to find an “extremely heavy fire coming from the warehouse area in the rear of the structure,” prompting a second alarm request due to the size of the fire and the nature of the business. Arrington said that plastics and fiberglass contributed to the thick, acrid smoke, as well as several large storage containers. Five vehicles also caught fire.
Forty-four units responded to the fire.
Fire fighters were able to keep the fire contained to the warehouse by employing the sprinkler system inside the building to prevent the fire from spreading to the showroom portion of the building.
Nearby homes were evacuated as a precaution, and access roads were temporarily closed, causing heavy traffic in the area for several hours.
Arrington said firefighters were forced to fight the fire defensively due
Spa Crafters warehouse, San Antonio, Texas to the extreme danger. He said that it was “a pretty remarkable fire” sizewise and in terms of how far away you could see the smoke.
Firefighters were able to get the fire contained within about an hour but stayed for several additional hours to put out any hot spots.
No injuries were reported. Fred Bonilla, 74, the owner of the Spa Crafters warehouse, said he can’t understand how the fire started.
“The gates were closed,” Bonilla said. “Nobody was working back there. I have no electricity. No flammables…” He said he’s at a loss as to why it happened, and he’d like more information from the fire department.
“I have zero answers. They’ve never even contacted me. Nothing. No answers to my questions. They’ve never been back out here at all,” Bonilla said four days after the fire took place.
He said he did have a chemical shed, but there was nothing to ignite the chemicals.
Arrington said that they may never get any answers.
“Due to the amount of damage, i t wil l likely be car r ied as undetermined,” he said.
Bonilla was out of town when the fire started, but he said that family members who were at the scene told him they had concerns about the amount of time it took to get water on the blaze.
“I’ve been told they were calling for water and there was no water,” Bonilla said. “I have two hydrants, right adjacent, on each corner of my building, and I don’t understand why those weren’t working. Or if they were, why didn’t they use those?”
In an audio recording of the incident, firefighters can be heard reporting, “We do not have any water. No water at this time. The private plug is a no go. It’s just barely trickling out.”
Arrington said that there are public fire hydrants in the area. But on a parcel as large as Bonilla’s, private fire hydrants are also a code requirement. “Those (private fire hydrants) are the responsibility of the property owner: To maintain, to have inspected … Maintenance, all of that, that’s their onus,” Arrington said.
Bonilla lost about 60 hot tubs and 20 swim spas, as well as five service vehicles and delivery trucks, which were full of parts and equipment. The warehouse was destroyed.
“The fire was so hot, the big metal I-beams on the awning melted and bent,” Bonilla said.
Now he’s searching for a new warehouse, because after 45 years in business, he’s committed to his legacy.
“We will survive because people are calling us every day,” Bonilla said. “We will come back. We definitely will.”
