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Texas streets were covered in debris following the explosion at the historic Fort Worth hotel, which injured 21 people.
Updated at 10:23 PM CST on January 8, 2024 on CBS Texas
Fort Worth: The fire department reports that a gas explosion at a historic downtown Fort Worth hotel on Monday resulted in at least 20 injuries.
The Fort Worth Fire Department reports that numerous complaints regarding a "type of explosion" at the Sandman Hotel, situated at 810 Houston St., were received after the initial call at 3:32 p.m.
"I initially believed it to be thunder. Witness Christa Daniels said, "I heard this loud noise, and then I looked out of my room, and I saw it wasn't thunder."
"I saw several individuals covered with blood and they were placed in the ambulance," added Daniels. "There were also those who were sobbing uncontrollably... It reminded me of 911. And that was somewhat unsettling." Three of the injured were workers at the Sandman Hotel's restaurant, Musume. "All of us at Musume are devastated by the tragic explosion that took place this afternoon at the Sandman Signature Hotel, which is the home of our restaurant," commented Josh Babb, co-founder of Musume. Fortunately, Musume was closed when the incident happened, so there weren't any diners and not many staff members were working. Despite their injuries, three Musume employees are receiving steady medical care at the hospital.
After the explosion, the area had a gas-like smell, but the cause is still being looked into, according to FWFD public relations officer Craig Trojacek.
"This downtown area smells like gas. We don't know if the gas smell came from the fire or the explosion itself, or if it was the source of the explosion," Trojacek stated.
Daniels stated, "I thought it was a bomb." "To be honest, I honestly believed it to be a bomb. I then noticed the gas smell. The gas was extremely potent.
According to Fort Worth Police, Sundance Square, which is situated at 420 Main St., is a family reunion place.
"If you have a loved one you cannot get in touch with, go to Lot 15 at the Sundance Square parking lot," Trojacek stated.
At the time of the explosion, the hotel was open for business and had 26 booked rooms.
Trojacek claimed that they located a person who the hotel manager had reported missing, as well as a second person who the authorities were unaware of."Several people were extracted from the basement that weren't able to get out on their own," Trojacek said.
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Jason Allen of CBS News Texas spoke with a man who was inside the hotel when the explosion occurred. He claimed there was a natural gas smell prior to the explosion and recalled asking one of his teammates, "Do you smell natural gas?" but he did not want to appear on camera.
They smelled it, he said, but it wasn't a strong scent. According to him, the odor originated beneath them. Then smoke and dust spread throughout the entire second story. They located the stairway after noticing the red exit sign.
He said to CBS News Texas that when he and the others arrived at the stairs, they found that most of it was missing. As a result, they leaped five or six feet below the floor and managed to escape the building.
Because of the explosion's great force, the street level's concrete was blasted away, enabling firefighters to see into lower levels.
"There was a live fire in the building that has been extinguished," Trojacek said. "It did go to a second alarm and that allowed us to bring in more resources to help with patient care... to make sure we were doing a search of the entire building and to put the fire out."
Greg Abbott, the governor, issued the following statement:
"To support emergency response efforts in the wake of the tragic explosion at the Sandman Hotel, the State of Texas is in close communication with Mayor Parker, Sheriff Waybourn, and other local partners and first responders in Fort Worth." We're keeping an eye on the situation and are prepared to send out extra staff and resources right away to keep Texans in the region safe and out of harm's way. We, Cecilia and I, want all Texans to pray for the people hurt in the explosion, and for the courageous people who came to save others.""There is still a lot going on in this scene. We have been cooperating with our Arson and Bomb Division, the FBI, and the ATF. Although we haven't concluded everything, we wanted to be clear that there was a gas explosion of some kind, and we're still investigating the specifics to determine what caused it at this moment, according to Trojacek.
Downtown, the smell of gas persisted for hours following the explosion.Furthermore, according to Atmos Energy, "gas has been isolated to the affected area, and it will continue to assist the Fort Worth Fire and Police Departments and all officials in support of their investigation." Highly skilled personnel also arrived, the company added. The mayor of Fort Worth, Mattie Parker, commented, "I am deeply proud of the swift and professional response from our [Fort Worth] and area first responders today." "I am humbled by the offers from our state leadership to support our city."The Sandman Hotel's owner, Northland Properties, provided CBS News Texas with the following statement:
"To determine the cause of the incident and the degree of damage done, we are collaborating closely with the authorities.
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