Sunday fire claims vintage building

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A large wooden home on Oak Street in downtown Pearsall is ravaged by fire Sunday; the cause of the blaze remains under investigation

Pearsall volunteer firefighters are investigating a blaze that destroyed a historic home and injured one on Sunday morning.
An emergency call was made shortly before 9 a.m. August 7, regarding a fire that had started in a large structure on Oak Street downtown. Pearsall volunteer firefighters were on scene within seven minutes to find the two-story home fully engulfed in flames.
Firefighters soon learned the home was occupied and the person inside had been asleep. The person in the home had been injured by the fire in an attempt to escape.

The resident was transferred to a San Antonio hospital by ambulance and treated for burns to the hands.
According to a report on the case from the VFD, firefighters attempted to fight the fire from the second floor, but the top of the stairs were burning, making it impossible to extinguish the flames.
“At that point an all-clear order was made for everyone to clear the building and we attempted to fight the fire from a defense approach,” Pearsall VFD Chief Placido Aguilar said in a phone interview Monday evening.
It took firefighters three hours and the use of heavy machinery to bring the fire under control.
Firefighters said that shortly after securing the scene they had to return to extinguish a smoldering fire by a television repair shop at the rear of the home.
“This was the fifth structure fire in the past thirty days,” the fire chief said. “It was made difficult to fight the fire because both the front and rear door were left open to clear the home. Air makes the fire bigger every second and this iconic house next to the Golden Chick restaurant was all wood and very old. The second floor went up like a matchbox.”
Moore VFD, the city of Pearsall, Frio County Road and Bridge, Pearsall police and Frio County Constable Pct. 2 Rudy Ortegon assisted Pearsall VFD with the early morning blaze.
The department is extending its gratitude to Norman Parsons and Feliz Aguilar, who provided refreshments, and Frio County Judge Arnulfo Luna, who fed the firefighters.