An early morning fire last weekend destroyed a large manufacturing facility in Tomball and sent nearby residents running for cover as the blaze grew larger.

American Coatings, located at 10625 Mahaffey Road just east of the Tomball city limits, caught fire at approximately 2:15 a.m., according to Harris County Fire and Arson Investigator Dean Hensley.

The fire burned for more than 14 hours, sending large plumes of flames and smoke into the sky and damaging power lines and trees in the process. Those living in homes near American Coatings quickly packed and fled in case the fire got out of control.

No one was injured in the fire, Hensley said, but one fire fighter was reportedly treated for breathing problems. John Burton, American Coatings Controller, said the building was vacant at the time of the fire. Initial reports described the facility as a manufacturer of paint, but Burton explained that American Coatings manufactures coatings for industrial metals for such uses as on oil drills.

Pictured, the American Coatings building just off of FM 2920 was destroyed in a July 17 fire. No one was injured in the blaze.

Photo by Holly Dutton

Hensley said last week that no determination had been made as to the cause of the fire and that it could take “weeks, even months” to find out what started the blaze.

The fire was large enough to bring several agencies from surrounding communities to the site. Even then, the building was still smoldering more than 24 hours after the flames had been extinguished. Among the agencies that responded were fire departments from Tomball, which led the extinguishing efforts, Klein, Magnolia, Rose Hill, Cy-Fair, Spring, Champions and Ponderosa. In addition, three Hazardous Materials crews were on site, as well as the Department of Homeland Security and Harris County Public Health and Human Services.

Hensley explained that one of the reasons for so many responding departments was due to there being no fire hydrants on site at the facility. He estimated more than 295,000 gallons of water were required to extinguish the flames.

He added that it’s not unusual in places of unincorporated Harris County, such as the site in which American Coatings is located and in rural areas, not to have fire hydrants.

Burton said American Coatings has opened a temporary office on SH 249 and is awaiting the destroyed building to be cleared before beginning to rebuild. He said American Coatings has operated in the Tomball area for 25 years and has been in its current location since 1996.

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed