HOUSTON – A massive fire that tore through a West Houston apartment building Thursday morning likely started from a prohibited barbecue grill on a resident’s balcony, displacing dozens of residents.
The blaze erupted around 5:30 a.m. at the Magnolia Terrace Apartment Homes, with flames shooting through the roof of Building 13. Firefighters continued battling hotspots well into the afternoon, working past 1 p.m. to fully extinguish the fire.
24 families found themselves displaced after the fire reduced much of the building’s top floor to rubble. While no injuries were reported, the incident has left residents and staff frustrated over what they describe as a preventable disaster.
David Gullette, who says he lived next door to where the fire allegedly started, described the sequence of events.
“He was doing something with the barbecue grill and thought the fire was out, put the lid back on it. Left it. Evidently it came back up in flames,” Gullette said.
Multiple balconies throughout the complex were observed with barbecue grills, despite complex policies explicitly prohibiting their use on balconies.
Property management confirmed this restriction exists specifically to prevent this type of incident.
The American Red Cross arrived on scene to provide assistance to affected residents.
Meanwhile, property management has begun relocating displaced residents to other available units within the complex.
While the Houston Fire Department has not yet released an official determination on the fire’s cause, both residents and staff members point to the unauthorized use of a barbecue grill on a balcony as the likely source of the devastating blaze.
