The Gazette-Enterprise

KINGSBURY — Firefighters from several departments battled a blaze of unknown origin to a standstill early Wednesday at a swimming pool manufacturing facility on U.S. 90.

Kingsbury Volunteer Fire Department Chief Bill Harborth said his department was dispatched to LoneStar Fiberglass Pools at about 11 p.m. and arrived at the manufacturing facility to find a fire burning so hot in the back of the metal industrial building that its exterior walls were glowing cherry red.

“We called Luling right away because it’s closer to Luling than to us, and right away I put Seguin on standby but then asked for them,” Harborth said. “I got calls from Sand Hills, New Berlin, York Creek and Lake Dunlap. They all offered assistance, and we took it. It was a huge building, and I had concerns about hazardous materials with the manufacturing they do there.”

The McQueeney Volunteer Fire Department brought its air system for replenishing tanks for firefighters who were working in or close to the flames.

Initially, Harborth said, his department treated the situation as a defensive one — accepting that the back of the building already burning would be heavily damaged, but trying to protect the front ahead of a partition installed in the building by its owners.

“At first, we never put anybody very far into the building,” Harborth said. “Once we assessed the situation, we did a walk-around and started an attack plan.”

Harborth said the advice he and his assistants got from the Luling and Seguin chiefs and Seguin battalion chief was invaluable.

“The departments worked well together as they usually do, and we had a lot of resources available to us,” Harborth said. “There was exceptional work done by all the fire departments, and that’s what enabled us to make the stop.”

The attack, supported by at least 30 firefighters, was built around the interior wall that separated the production from make-ready and finishing areas, Harborth said.

First, they ventilated the front and then sent firefighters into the building, and then they went to the wall and brought water to bear on the blaze from inside.

“The dividing wall was a big contributing factor to saving the building,” Harborth said.

While most of the building was saved, the loss would be substantial, Harborth said.

The owner of the business estimated it could reach seven figures, the chief said.

“He’s got a heavy financial investment in that building,” Harborth said.

Sheriff Arnold Zwicke’s office surveys fire scenes to determine how fires are caused.

Zwicke said Wednesday afternoon Investigator Sgt. Bruce Tubbs would work to determine the precise cause of the fire, but that its origin did not appear to be

suspicious.

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