EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The investigation into what caused the explosion and subsequent fire that rocked the Sun Metro Transit Operations Center this past Tuesday is ongoing, and El Paso Fire Department Chief Jonathan Killings said it may take a “couple of weeks.”
“That investigation is still underway. Due to the condition of the building, it’s going to take a little bit of time for our investigators to get through all the rubble and be able to complete that thorough investigation,” Killings said, adding that they won’t be able to fully assess the damages caused by the fire until they conclude the investigation.
Killings along with other city leaders spoke at a news conference Thursday afternoon to provide an update about the incident where eight people were injured, including two people who are in critical condition and have been flown to a burn center in Phoenix, Arizona.
8 people hurt, 2 transported to Phoenix after Sun Metro fire; City responds with resources
Friends and family of the victims who were flown out have created GoFundMe pages to help alleviate medical expenses.
Through the website, KTSM has learned that the two people in critical condition are German Garcia and Ruben Ibarra, both part of Sun Metro’s maintenance crew.
You can find the GoFundMe pages below.
Sun Metro Director Anthony Dekeyzer said they will remain on their Sunday/Holiday schedule until Wednesday next week as they work to stabilize their transit operations.
“The changes in the schedule were based upon Sun Metro being able to provide safe buses for transporting our citizens. You have an amount that has to be ready for pullout. And that’s 105 buses. So, we have to assess the situation, make sure we have maintenance facilities and maintenance personnel and other resources ready to put those buses on the street,” Dekeyzer said.
Dekeyzer said there were approximately 40 people in the maintenance building when the fire occurred. He said they will continue to offer medical services and counseling to staff.
He also said that those who were injured during the fire will be able to fill out worker’s compensation so that the City of El Paso can cover for any injuries sustained during the fire.
While City leaders did not provide much-updated information, Killings did describe the response from the El Paso Fire Department in closer detail.
He said that the first crews on the scene conducted initial search and rescue operations to help clear everyone out of the maintenance building where the fire occurred and quickly changed from a primary to a full response.
“Within 4 to 5 minutes upon arrival, due to the intense fire conditions that were present inside the facility, crews were directed to withdraw from the building, for safety…and went into what we call a defensive fire attack, which is, fire attack from the exterior of the structure. Shortly after that decision was made is when the roof and rear wall of the facility collapsed,” Killings said.
Killings said it took approximately two hours after the first arriving unit to get the fire under control.
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