By KREIG KOHL
Special to the PRESS
Tuesday, Oct. 19, saw destruction in Port Isabel as a fire overtook the Oyster Cove Condominiums around 10:30 at night. The fire destroyed 16 condos in the roughly two and half hours it burned for. Fortunately, no injuries or fatalities were reported, according to a statement by City Manager Jared Hockema. The cause of the fire has not been determined or reported as of yet.
Around 11:20 that night Port Isabel Fire Department called out to the South Padre Island Coast Guard Station for assistance with the blaze. The station deployed a special-purpose craft with two dewatering pumps on board alongside Brownsville Fire Department Firefighters, according to Coastguardnews.com. By 2:38 a.m. the fire had been extinguished and the boat had been returned to its docked position at the station.
John Sandoval, Fire Marshal for Port Isabel, said of the fire, “At approximately 10:30 last night, yesterday evening, dispatch received multiple calls of a possible fire at 401 Island Avenue that we later identified as Oyster Cove Condominiums. Approximately ten minutes after the first call our initial engine arrived on the scene and realized quickly that it was beyond our resources, especially with the high winds being a factor. At that point, only one structure was involved. They called out for mutual aid from South Padre Island Fire, Laguna Vista Fire, Los Fresno Fire Department and Brownsville Fire. Later on, we were also assisted by the Coast Guard to be able to get the back end of those buildings.”
Praising the many crews that came out to help with the blaze, Sandoval continued on to say, “Fire crews continued working overnight, and are actually still on scene as of right now trying to get hotspots out. It was a large fire, heavily loaded with fuel.”
Sandoval stated that the largest obstacle crews faced was ensuring everyone at the condos had gotten out of the fire.
“We knew that all full-time residents were accounted for and able to get out on time. What we were having trouble accounting for is those that were either vacation homes, air bnbs, or those who had it as a second home. As of this morning, we were able to make sure everyone was out and all the owners were notified of the loss.”
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