A 2nd-alarm apartment complex fire displaced several residents Wednesday morning as severe storms overwhelmed Corpus Christi emergency crews with calls for lightning strikes, downed power lines, and high water rescues.
Corpus Christi Fire Department Deputy Chief Daniel Valdez said crews received a call just after 7 a.m. for possible smoke in an attic.
"Our units arrived on scene. We did find an active fire. We upgraded it to a 2nd alarm, which means we had additional units respond due to the size of the apartment complex that was affected," Valdez said.
The fire was contained to the attic and affected about 6 units. A fire investigator is on scene and the cause remains under investigation.
Several residents were displaced. Valdez said the department is working with the Red Cross to address their needs.
"We are working with Red Cross to address the needs of those people, and we're making sure that we have them out of the elements, and we're taking care of them now," Valdez said.
While crews worked the apartment fire, additional emergency calls continued coming in across the city.
"We're getting multiple calls for smoke in the areas, lightning strikes, power lines down," Valdez said. "We're working with AEP, we're working with CCPD and we're working with ESD 1 and 2 to help us distribute and make sure that we're responding to all of our calls."
Valdez urged residents to avoid flooded roadways during the storms.
"Turn around, don't drown. If the water starts looking high, turn around, go back home, call your work, call the school, let them know there's gonna be a delay. It's not worth the risk of trying to drive through this water," Valdez said.
Texas Task Force 1 is also deploying resources to Corpus Christi to assist with high water rescues. Valdez said the team will be stationed at a Corpus Christi fire station and has brought additional boats and personnel to the area.
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