iFly back on track after massive blaze

The iFly Skydiving venue is continuing construction after a massive blaze threatened to shut it down.

Lysa Adams, a spokeswoman for iFly told ABC 7 that the construction crew is doing their best to keep the planned April opening. Adams said, “Everyone came together and pushed forward. They’ve been working tirelessly to get us back on track, so we can bring you guys the gift of flight.”

The fire was sparked by a welder on the Northwest corner of the iFly structure. According to Adams, a spark landed on a piece on insulation and started the blaze.

Adams told ABC-7 it was the quick thinking of the Construction Supervisor that helped in getting everyone out of the building safe. She said, “By the time they realized there was a fire, and it was pretty instant, everybody was accounted for, everyone was out of the building.”

Captain Carlos D. Cavillo from the El Paso Fire Department also credited the supervisors quick thinking, in helping them focus directly on putting the fire out. Cavillo told ABC 7, “The rapid response in locating and gathering their personal allowed us to put water on the fire faster, and place the incident under control faster as well.”

Cavillo told ABC-7 the EPFD utilized its two drones, which gave them a huge advantage in fighting the fire. He said, “The drones are able to be deployed to gather an aerial vantage point for incident commanders for major incidents such as this fire.”

The EPFD uses the drones as their eyes in the sky, to help them better position their water streams, to fight the fire more effectively all while keeping their firefighters as safe as possible. Cavillo said the drones also have thermal energy capabilities. He said, “The thermal energy detectors allow us to detect hidden fire, by indicating the temperature variance.”

Cavillo said the drones fly above, and through thermal energy detections, firefighters are able to locate hot spots, that could turn into fires. The drones are fitted with powerful lenses and cameras, which a drone operator uses to gather information on the fire. Cavillo said, “The drone pilot, who is highly trained, is able to then relay the information to the incident commander.”

The Incident Commander then directs the firefighters where to direct their water streams, and how to more effectively fight the fire.

“Because of the fact that all El Paso fire department members are highly trained in tactics and strategies,” Cavillo said, “I believe that ultimately the fire proved no match.”

Adams said that the damage to the iFly structure was minimal, she said, “There is absolutely zero structural damage, basically because of the response of the first responders of El Paso.”

iFly is on schedule to open up on April 2, 2019.