Woman charged for starting 13-unit fire in NE Harris County

Fire at Harris County Apartment Complex Caused by Argument

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — A fire that damaged 13 units at a northeast Harris County apartment complex on Monday was caused by a woman burning her boyfriend’s clothes after an argument, according to the Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office.

Investigators say the woman, who has not been identified, will be charged with reckless arson.

She was allegedly burning the clothes on a second-floor balcony at the Southlake Villas apartments on Tidwell at C.E. King when the fire spread to nearby units.

Witness Mario Thompson described the scene, saying, “It spreaded way over here. The roof had caved in. It was like stuff falling off the back. I’m like, ‘Dang.’”

Firefighters faced challenges in fighting the blaze because they could not initially enter the apartment complex.

Matt Hathorn, district chief with the Sheldon Community Fire Department, stated, “The complex here didn’t have the proper gates. The gate was messed up, so we had to cut gates and stuff like that to get into the apartment complex, and get all the big apparatus into the apartment complex.”

Hathorn also noted that the nearest water hydrants were across the street from the complex.

After initially putting out the fire, firefighters returned to the scene Monday evening when a hotspot flared up.

Hathorn explained, “We had a wind-driven fire today, so the wind’s driving and it’s blowing. It stirs up any little ember that’s in there.”

During the second firefight, a fire captain was injured when part of the second floor collapsed. He was taken to the hospital.

Firefighters confirmed that all of the apartment’s residents made it out safely.

Summary of Incident