KILLEEN, Texas — For nearly 30 minutes, a man used cocktails and chemicals desperately trying set Tow Masters Towing and Recovery in Killeen on fire early Wednesday morning.
“He made his cocktail right there. He kept trying to light that door,” said Ricky Britt, owner of Tow Masters Towing & Trucking .
Britt said around 3:30 a.m. he received camera alerts showing someone on his property.
“The ding on my phone I guess I slept right through it," Britt said. "I don’t know what was going on."
Luckily, lead driver James Oltmann drove up to finish his paperwork shortly after the suspect left.
“I could see soot and burns on the bottom of the door and everything like that," Oltmann said. "Call Ricky and said, ‘Hey I think somebody’s tried to set the building on fire.'"
Then Britt and his wife called the police and rushed down.
Oltmann said the inside was filled with smoke. They also found broken glass, chemicals and other materials used to burn down the business.
“As I found the stuff I saw the tow truck and some of my vehicles over there, whatever he tried to use, throwed all down the side there,” said Oltman.
Though smoke was inside, the fire stopped at the door.
“You can tell he didn’t know what he was doing because that’s a steel door you know,” said Britt.
Glad the building is still standing, they now want to find the person who's responsible.
“We don’t know where it’s coming from," Britt said. "That’s what we would love to know. Where is it coming from why."
Britt said the Killeen police and the county fire marshal, who were on scene, are still investigating.
They’re also talking with their neighboring businesses and others around the area to try to figure out what happened that night.
If you know any information, please contact the Killeen Police Department.
