by MOSES LEOS III
Early Sunday Morning, Bastrop County Fire Officials responded to a fire at the American Fireworks warehouse on Hwy. 71 at Hwy. 21 in Bastrop.
Local resident Chester Davis, who owns a smaller American Fireworks storefront along southbound IH-35 in Buda, owns the Bastrop structure.
According to Davis, fire officials were called at around 10:55 am. Davis, who was in Buda at the time of the first call to 911, quickly made his way to Bastrop.
“By the time I got to the warehouse, I was not sure what part of it was on fire, or which building,” Davis said.
Davis said two employees were checking a fireworks barge, meant for a display for the Hyde Park Baptist Church at the Quarries in Austin, in a building in the back of the property. He said all of the employees were accounted for, with no injuries reported.
For reasons still unknown, the fireworks display somehow was set off, starting the fire. The cause of the blaze is under investigation.
First to respond were the fire units within the Bastrop County Emergency Services District (ESD). Other units were called to respond, including Elgin, McDade, Paige, Heart of the Pines, Smithville and Travis County ESD 11; in total, nine departments responded to the warehouse.
The ESD and fire departments shut down Hwy. 71 at Hwy. 21 for several hours while they fought the fire.
According to David Gahagan, assistant chief at 3-N-1 Volunteer Fire Department in Bastrop County ESD No. 1, a box-call to the ESD fire departments within Bastrop County was made at 10:58 a.m.
“We responded to work a structure fire, and noticed black smoke when we first arrived at the building,” Gahagan said.
Gahagan said there were no large flames emanating from the structure, nor explosions, save for fireworks being set off.
Once Davis relayed all of the employees were accounted for, the battle to contain the fire intensified.
“We began to make a defensive attack against the fire,” Gahagan said. “Travis County ESD 11 provided an attack from above via their tower ladder truck.”
By 1:30 p.m., the fire was contained, with the entire scene mopped up and cleared by 6 p.m., according to Gahagan.
Davis said fireworks were lost, along with the barge, three flat bed trailers used to transport fireworks shows and the building. He did not give an estimate of the damages, saying only, “It was a lot of money.”
However, Davis was relieved the fire was only in the product and assortment building. Keeping the structure in the back of the property was one reason for the swift containment of the fire.
“We built the building in the back of the property, away from the main facility,” Davis said. “We did that for a reason. It worked perfectly.”
Davis said he has never had a fire within his warehouse before, and was unsure of what the response could have been. The swift actions of the responding fire departments helped keep destruction from spreading.
“I applaud the incredible effort of the Bastrop County Fire Officials and the Bastrop County Office of Emergency Management for contacting many fire departments to help respond,” Davis said. “They did a marvelous job to contain the fire to the one building. The whole process went as smoothly as possible. Everything worked out perfectly.”
He was most relieved no one was hurt.
“We are richly blessed everyone made it out safely, and there were no injuries,” Davis said. “Truthfully, everything in the building is replaceable. If I had to deal with an injury or death, I would feel so much worse.”
According to Gahagan, Bastrop County ESD officials will interview the workers who were at the warehouse at the time of the fire. However, due to a lack of resources and a Fire Marshall, Bastrop County will not proceed with an official investigation.
Despite the devastation, Davis was optimistic for the upcoming Fourth of July celebration.
“We are working at 100 percent,” Davis said. “We will be ready for the Fourth [of July]. We have many shows coming up and are ready to celebrate the holiday.”
Davis, who has received calls from the world over in support, will deal with the aftermath after the holiday.
“We are not sure what will happen, but we will move forward,” he said. “We are very fortunate no one was injured. We are truly blessed.”
