Large Fire In Downtown El Paso

Fire crews will stay at the scene of a serious fire overnight in downtown El Paso as they continue keeping an eye out for hot spots.

Flames broke out at a building on the 100 block of San Antonio Avenue near El Paso Street a little before 7 p.m. Sunday.

“We started smelling the smoke, then we came down here,” said one witness. Thick smoke billowed out of the building and cast a hazy brown veil over curious onlookers as firefighters worked to contain the flames.

A fire department spokesperson said the flames started in the back of a building in a warehouse-type area. The spokesman said the flames were so severe, they caused a roof to collapse in the first floor of the building. As of 10 p.m. Sunday, the worst of the fire and flames had been contained.

Sylvia Maldonado said that warehouse area was part of her family’s business, Alamo Shooters, which is a military supply store. “All of my family worked there, even my sons,” she said.

One of Maldonado’s relatives, Erica Mendez, said she felt sad and scared because of the highly flammable materials in the military supply store. “Some of the materials are explosive,” she said.

A spokesman for the fire department said about 60 firefighters were able to contain the flames so they did not spread too far inside the military supply store, though he said it did sustain some fire damage. He said no one was inside the building when the flames broke out.

One firefighter was hurt when he tripped battling the blaze. He received medical attention and is expected to be okay.

San Antonio avenue will be blocked off near El Paso street overnight as crews keep an eye out for hot spots.

ABC-7 is still working to confirm what caused the flames. No word yet on how much was damaged. Maldonado said she and her family will start over if they have to. “I’m not scared,” she said.