Local News

San Antonio’s Rivercenter Shops Catch Fire For the Third Time

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Tony Maples Photography

 

The Shops at Rivercenter near the Alamo in downtown San Antonio don’t have the best luck when it comes to fires. According to KSAT, the latest fire incident, which took place on Tuesday, is the third time the shops have dealt with a fire since February 2016. Surprisingly, each of the incidents has been unrelated.

On Feb. 8, 2016, a two-alarm fire began when a worker used a torch to cut a 24-ton cooling unit loose. The torch ignited dry timber at the top of the parking garage. On April 4, 2016, a pile of towels inside of the Tony Roma restaurant caught fire during the night.

According to the San Antonio Express-News, the latest Rivercenter incident started around 11:40 a.m. on the 27th, and the fire department successfully put out the blaze after 4 p.m. This time, the fire was in the ducts around Tony Roma’s and Luciano Ristorante Italiano. Firefighters believed it started as a grease fire. The news explains, “Restaurants do present some unique challenges to firefighters. The duct work required for sophisticated ventilation systems can snake through walls and ceilings, making access to the point of origin difficult. Grease fires, when they occur, must be smothered to effectively extinguish them.”

Thankfully, no one was hurt during the ordeal. The shops and the nearby Marriot were safely evacuated.