AUSTIN, Texas — A fire at an apartment complex on William Cannon Drive in South Austin spread to multiple buildings and forced evacuations Thursday morning.
At 3:23 a.m., the Austin Fire Department (AFD) got a call about a fire on a first floor balcony at the Cannon South Apartments, located at 117 W. William Cannon Drive, near South Congress Avenue. Asst. Fire Chief Andre de la Reza said evacuations were already underway at the time of the call.
The fire later extended to other connected buildings. At 3:41 a.m., De la Reza said the working fire had gone to a second alarm. A third alarm was called at 4:07 a.m. so AFD could have enough firefighters on the scene to keep the firefight going.
De la Reza said ultimately, more than 80 firefighters had been dedicated to combatting this fire.
He said there were two buildings involved, including more than 15 units. He also said Austin-Travis County EMS medics were on the scene as a precaution, but no injuries had been reported. CapMetro buses were also on the scene for residents to use.
De la Reza said initial reports from the first AFD units and from Austin police officers on the scene did not show that a smoke detector was going off.
"I'll take this moment to also remind all ... residents here in Austin that a smoke detector is the cheapest life insurance you can [get]," De la Reza said Thursday morning. "It never sleeps. It gives you seconds when seconds truly matter."
As of 6:30 a.m., De la Reza said the firefight was still underway, so an investigation into its cause or the extent of the damage had not yet begun.
No additional information is available at this time.