Dumpster Fire Spreads to Side of San Angelo Community Health Club

SAN ANGELO, TX – This evening, San Angelo firefighters battled a dumpster blaze that caused damage to the side of the Community Health Club at 3336 Loop 306.

Joanna Jackson, San Angelo Fire Marshal Investigator, said she has yet to determine the start of the fire; however, she did find a cigarette butt nearby. Whether that was the cause has yet to be determined.

“I will go ahead and take a sample, [and] send it off to see if there was any accelerant used, or ignitable fluid, but I can’t say for sure,” said Jackson.

Jackson noted that it’s unusual for dumpster fires to cause damage to buildings because most people don’t put the large dumpsters near them.

Jackson said to avoid these types of occurrences, business owners want to keep dumpsters at a safe distance from their buildings, and to pay attention to build up, including cardboard boxes.

“In this case, it was a couple of couches, [so] don’t let those sorts of things sit up against your building,” she added. “Then it can turn into a fire that spreads to the structure.”

Jackson said the good thing in this case is the building is made out of CMU (cement blocks), so that helped keep the fire from spreading.