City Begins Demolishing Building Destroyed By Fire Overnight

City crews are working on demolishing a vacant apartment building destroyed by a huge blaze overnight.

The fire erupted around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday on the 900 block of North Mesa Street, near the intersection of Montana Avenue in Central El Paso. Firefighters could not attack the fire from inside due to the decrepit state of the vacant structure, forcing them to call for backup. A total of 34 fire units, or 86 firefighters, tried containing the fire by shooting jets of water into the building from above with ladder trucks. It took two hours to bring the fire under control.

“This is a four-story building, an old-type construction, built in the early 1900s,” El Paso Fire Department spokesman John Concha said when asked why it took so long to contain the blaze. “There’s a lot of old wood, and so the big concern here is collapse.”

About 35 people who live near the vacant building were evacuated for most of the evening into the early morning hours because of heavy smoke blowing in the direction of their homes. Sun Metro and the Red Cross were helping supply the residents with temporary shelter.

Concha told ABC-7 the city has cleared the way for crews to demolish the building as quickly as possible. The spokesman said that decision was reached because the building is not structurally sound, and with winds projected at 50 to 60 miles per hour, there is a concern that strong gusts could blow parts of the brick building onto the street or sidewalk.

Concha also told ABC-7 the city does not have the proper equipment to knock down the four-story building. Officials are working on finding a contractor who can get the job done. In the meantime, North Mesa between Rio Grande and Montana avenues will be closed. Concha believes that will be for most of Wednesday and perhaps even into Thursday.

Both Concha and nearby residents told ABC-7 the vacant building had often attracted homeless people looking for shelter.

“I’m not surprised the building has burned down,” Ryan Levy told ABC-7 as the building burned behind him. “Usually there’s a bunch of bums and homeless people going in and out of that building, so it’s a real eyesore and I’m glad to see that it’s going.”

Concha said El Paso police officers had just kicked out several people who were caught living on the fourth floor of the building on Sunday evening. The fire’s cause is still under investigation.