News

May 16, 2023

Grass fire at Austin playground sparks after child found playing with matches: AFD

Austin firefighters are on high alert as the city enters another red flag warning day for fire risk. One of the fires they responded to happened Wednesday evening, and is believed to have been started

Austin firefighters are on high alert as the city enters another red flag warning day for fire risk. One of the fires they responded to happened Wednesday evening, and is believed to have been started by a child at a playground.

AUSTIN, Texas - The Austin Fire Department responded to a grass fire at a playground in an east Austin apartment complex. Officials believed the fire was started by a child playing with matches.

Central Texas is under another red flag warning and the Austin Fire Department is on high alert responding to around double the normal amount of grass and brush fires.

The playground located at the Lupine Terrace Apartments remains taped off after the fire. Austin Fire was called out there Wednesday evening under a grass fire call. A call AFD says is common this time of year.

"Those are calls that happen pretty frequently, but with the weather the way it is, the potential for that small incident to grow very big quickly is always there," said AFD Shift Commander Mark Bridges.

Triple-digit temperatures, low humidity and increased winds are the exact conditions needed for a wildfire to start and spread. Fire crews across central Texas are gearing up, and stepping up to help areas like Bastrop which are already seeing the worst of it.

One witness tells FOX 7 Austin he first smelled the burning rubber before he saw the flames.

"We looked up in the air, we saw like dark, heavy smoke. We ran towards where the fire was, and it was a playground that was on fire," said a witness.

He says he was thankful AFD crews were able to put out the fire so quickly because it could have been a lot worse.

"There were kids around and buildings around that playground, so I was like, well, it's going to catch, but luckily it didn't," said the witness.

MORE STORIES:

Shift Commander Bridges says the fire was started by a kid playing with matches. An act that is dangerous in itself, but extremely dangerous during red flag warnings.

"We are in a heightened state of awareness here in the city of Austin, Travis County. Any kind of ember from a firework, from a cigarette, from a match, anything discarded improperly in any pile of leaves or grass, or any other trash can start a very big fire very quickly. These fires can go from small to big very quickly," he said.

The witness encourages all parents to watch their children to avoid something like this from happening again.

"Keep lighters, matches, anything away from children right now or keep them occupied with something around the house because, right now, some kids are bored, and they'll find anything to do out here that will definitely start fires," he said.

All the news you need to know, every day

By clicking Sign Up, I confirmthat I have read and agreeto the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.