PASADENA, Texas – A two-alarm fire broke out Thursday at a Pasadena apartment complex.
Firefighters were sent to the Parkside Place complex at 3101 Spencer Highway at 8:30 a.m.
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Flames and smoke poured from the roof. Fire officials said the flames started in Building 7 and spread to Building 6, so both buildings were evacuated.
"I was sound asleep, and they came banging on my door to get out," resident Estella Vasquez said.
The Pasadena fire marshal said the fire was under control by 9:20 a.m.
"The winds are pretty calm so that's helping out. It's an extremely hot day so it's definitely rough for the firefighters," Fire Marshal David Brannon said.
Firefighters said a fire hydrant was turned off because of a previous water main break, so crews had to use a hydrant down the street and closed Spencer Highway for a while.
"We had it back open within a short period of time and water supply out of it. We did have a water supply from two other hydrants at that time. It did not affect the operations at all," Brannon said.
About half of the apartments in the building were damaged or destroyed. Investigators said a firewall stopped the flames from consuming the entire building.
One firefighter was treated for a cut on his hand. No other injuries were reported.
There's no word yet on a possible cause.