Major fire broke out on Sunday displacing about 30 people, residents may still smell smoke
KILLEEN, Texas (March 3, 2025) – The Killeen Fire Department has confirmed that all 36 residents have been accounted for and there were no major injuries, following a fire along Atkinson Avenue and Liberty Street on Sunday, March 2. The fire is now 100% contained, although there is still an active fire with numerous hot spots at the Mayflower warehouse / Scobey Moving and Storage building.
No cause has been determined, as the Fire Marshal’s Office is still investigating. Crews will remain on scene through at least Tuesday afternoon, with personnel numbers gradually decreasing.
The initial call came in at 1:02p.m. Sunday and the first crew was on scene within four minutes, reporting a grass fire that spread to storage boxes, which were stacked high. Wind gusts at the time were above 30 miles an hour and a second call came in about a fire on the Liberty Manor Apartments roofing, sparked by embers.
The apartments consisted of 18 units that are a total loss. The Forestry Services determined 17 businesses were under threat and were protected and saved by fire crews on the scene. Four structures were affected, with three having significant damage. Two commercial buildings were damaged and two were a complete loss, the water treatment plant was threatened (with seven commercial buildings within) and four apartment complex buildings were threatened and saved. The Habitat for Humanity building had minor damage.
“This is definitely one of the largest fires I’ve been involved with here in the city of Killeen,” Killeen Fire Chief James Kubinski said. “We have a strong Incident Command system that we practice and utilize every day on smaller incidents, which prepares us for these larger incidents. Commanders had to make quick decisions on what structures to prioritize. They made some great decisions and in that, we kept it to four damaged structures, as it could have been a whole lot worse, given the high winds.”
Those who reside to the north and west of the Killeen Independent School District Transportation facility may see smoke and smell burning until all is 100% under control. There was no major damage to any KISD vehicles.
Crews are still addressing the main storage warehouse. Crews consisted of two battalion chiefs, two brush trucks, two suppression units, 21 fire department apparatus units from the Killeen Fire Department and surrounding agencies throughout Bell County, 38 law enforcement offices on scene between the Killeen Police Department, Bell County Sheriff's Office and the Department of Public Safety. Two fire engines, two aerial trucks, a rescue company and two brush trucks with wildland firefighters were added, as they’re trained to identify hot spots that may arise over the next 24 hours.
Overnight, 11 of the 36 displaced residents took advantage of the Reunification Center established at Destiny World Outreach Church (101 WS Young Drive, Killeen). The American Red Cross performed a disaster assessment of the area and continues to help get residents permanently relocated. Killeen is also working with other agencies to safely secure any donations that can be provided to displaced families. Additionally, the Texas Department of Emergency Management and the Bell County Emergency Management Office is assisting the City of Killeen’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management to help those in need.
The Killeen Animal Services building is near the fire location and their team was able to safely evacuate all of the shelter animals to one of our other two facilities. Staff is offering kennels and carriers to those in need who were affected and/or lost their animal’s items. They are accepting donations for the animals displaced by the fire at the Killeen Animal Services building (3118 Commerce Drive) on Monday through Saturday from 9a.m - 4 p.m.
Atkinson Avenue at Liberty Street remains closed, with an anticipated reopening of any time before 5p.m. today.
Fire Chief Kubinski has this advice: “We typically say to keep your land clear of heavy brush, at least 20-30 feet away from structured. In this case, the winds were against us. We did everything we could. Please keep your area clear of brush and be very cognizant of winds.”
Donation information:
The City of Killeen has partnered with United Way of Killeen to receive monetary donations for the affected households. Those can be made via cash or check and delivered / mailed to 208 West Avenue A, Killeen, Texas 76541 or online at https://www.unitedwaygtca.org/contact
For in-kind donations, the needs are:
- cleaning supplies
- toilet paper
- paper towels
- gift cards
- personal hygiene items (travel sizes)