One Dead in South Austin House Fire
- A Thursday afternoon house fire in the Chappell Hill neighborhood of South Austin left one person dead, with crews responding around 12:39 p.m. to a single-story home off Joy Street. - Travis County ESD 5 said the fire was contained to one room, no one else was home, and two dogs also died; six units responded and cleared the scene before 6 p.m. - The Travis County Fire Marshal and Travis County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the cause, while officials say there is no known danger to the public. (kvue.com)
A house fire in South Austin left one person dead Thursday afternoon at a home in the Chappell Hill neighborhood off Joy Street. (kvue.com) (kxan.com) Travis County Emergency Services District No. 5 said crews were called at about 12:39 p.m. to the single-story house near West Slaughter Lane and Menchaca Road. Austin Fire Department officials said one person died in the fire. (kvue.com) (kxan.com) KXAN reported that two dogs also died and that no one else was home when the fire started. Travis County ESD 5 said the fire was out by Thursday afternoon. (kxan.com) Six units responded, and officials cleared the scene just before 6 p.m. Nathan Mendenhall, the risk reduction officer for Travis County ESD 5, said there was no reason to believe the public was in danger. (kvue.com) Investigators said the fire stayed in a single room instead of spreading through the house. Mendenhall said a closed door appears to have limited the damage. (kvue.com) (kxan.com) The victim’s name and gender had not been released as of Thursday night. The Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office responded to the scene. (kxan.com) The Travis County Fire Marshal opened an investigation into the cause of the fire, with help from the Travis County Sheriff’s Office. Officials had not released a cause by late Thursday. (kvue.com) (kxan.com) For now, the case is a fatal house fire investigation centered on one room in one South Austin home, with authorities still working to identify the victim and determine how the fire began. (kvue.com) (kxan.com)
