Six-alarm fire destroys boat storage yard

By Alex Wukman in The Eastex Advocate
Firefighters from over a dozen different departments in four counties were called to a six-alarm blaze around 2:30 p.m. on the afternoon of Friday, July 16. The fire erupted at Jeff’s Tall Stall, a boat and vehicle storage facility, which is located on SH 156 just past Lake Shore Drive near Point Blank in San Jacinto County.

The fire also required law enforcement officers, and later the Texas Department of Transportation, to stop traffic while attempts were being made to gain control of the fire.

Despite rumors of chemicals in the storage facility no evacuation was ordered.

Coldspring Volunteer Fire Department Chief Rick Smith said that there were no injuries due to the fire. Smith stated that several firefighters suffered from heat exhaustion, but those cases were “under control.”

At this point authorities are still not sure what caused the fire. Smith said that the origin of the blaze is still being investigated.

Most of the vehicles and items that were stored at the facility were lost to the flames, smoke and water. Amongst those losses was a boat belonging to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Game Warden Division. Additionally, several other boats, one bus, an RV and an ATV were also damaged by the fire.

The fire caused the sheet metal roof to buckle and collapse inward and the large metal doors on many of the stalls to fall off their hinges.

Firefighters were able to get the blaze under control by 4:15 p.m. normal traffic flow was not established until some time later.

Among those who responded to the blaze were the Coldspring VFD, Shepherd VFD, Point Blank VFD, New Waverly VFD, Onalaska VFD, Bear Creek VFD, Waterwood VFD, Riverside VFD, 980 North VFD, Huntsville FD, 356 VFD and the Thomas Lake VFD.

The San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Department, San Jacinto County Pct. 4 Constable’s Office, San Jacinto County Pct. 4 Justice of the Peace, Texas Parks and Wildlife Game Warden, Trinity County Constable, Department of Public Safety State Troopers, Legacy EMS and the San Jacinto County First Responders also responded to the fire.