UPDATE
City of Killeen officials confirmed Monday afternoon that all occupants of the apartment building are accounted for and safe — there were no fatalities.
"The fire is now 100 percent contained, although there is still an active fire with numerous hot spots at the Mayflower warehouse/Scobey Moving and Storage building," officials said.
"This is definitely one of the largest fires I’ve been involved with here in the City of Killeen,” said Killeen Fire Chief James Kubinski.
"We have a strong Incident Command system that we practice and utilize every day on smaller incidents, which prepares us for these larger incidents. Commanders had to make quick decisions on what structures to prioritize — they made some great decisions and in that, we kept it to four damaged structures, as it could have been a whole lot worse, given the high winds."
11 of the 36 displaced residents received care, and the American Red Cross performed a disaster assessment of the area and continues to help get residents permanently relocated. Other local organizations are helping displaced Texans get the help they need.
"The Killeen Animal Services building is near the fire location and their team was able to safely evacuate all of the shelter animals to one of our other two facilities," officials said.
"Staff is offering kennels and carriers to those in need who were affected and/or lost their animal’s items. They are accepting donations for the animals displaced by the fire at the Killeen Animal Services building (3118 Commerce Drive) on Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Atkinson Avenue at Liberty Street is still closed, with an anticipated reopening of any time before 5p.m. Monday.
UPDATE
A massive fire at an 18-unit apartment building has left 30 people displaced, with the building declared a total loss.
The fire quickly became uncontrollable before help could reach the scene, and emergency responders are still working to assess the full damage.
As of now, officials have not reported any fatalities or injuries.
The search of the affected buildings is ongoing, and it is too early to determine the full extent of harm.
In addition to the apartment building, two buses were damaged, though neither was a total loss. Twenty-one fire department units responded to the scene, where a total of four structure fires were reported. Three fires have been declared total losses, with Habitat for Humanity being the only structure remaining largely intact. The animal shelter was unharmed.
Authorities are continuing to investigate the cause of the fires.
Officials said wind does come into play in how the fires spread.
PREVIOUS STORY:
The Killen Police Department says fire crews are working to contain a 'large fire' on Sunday afternoon along Atkinson Avenue.
The following streets are temporarily closed:
• WS Young Drive from Rancier Avenue to Veterans Memorial Blvd.
• WS Young Drive at Atkinson Avenue
• Rancier Avenue at Liberty Street
• Atkinson Avenue at Commerce Drive
• Rancier Avenue to 38th Street
•. Rancier Avenue from 38th Street to Veterans Memorial Blvd.
This is a developing story.
