A major fire at David Wayne Hooks Airport broke out the morning of Dec. 6 in a private hangar, resulting in the total destruction of the building, and serious burns to the hangar’s owner.

At left, a private hangar at Hooks Airport was destroyed by a Dec. 6 fire, which injured one person, 68-year-old Del Martin.

According to Klein Fire Department Chief David Besso, the call came into the department just after 11 a.m. When fire fighters arrived, they saw a blaze that Besso described as “already heavily involved” in a hangar located on the southeastern portion of the airport.

The owner, Del Martin, 68, was attempting to push an airplane out of the hangar when he received serious burns, Besso said. Located in the hangar were a total of five airplanes, four of which were consumed in the blaze.

Martin was taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston where he was treated for first and second degree burns. Besso said that at last report, Martin was still in the hospital, but would likely fully recover.

The hangar, like many at Hooks, included a residential quarters in which Martin and his wife and child lived. Besso said they were at church when the fire broke out.

The blaze took “several hours” to extinguish, Besso said, even with the aid of units from Klein, Spring, Tomball, Ponderosa, Magnolia, South Montgomery County and Cypress Creek Fire Departments.

Most of the aid from surrounding departments was in the form of tanker trucks, Besso said. He explained that Hooks Airport is not fitted with fire hydrants, and is not required by law to do so. After the initial tanker trucks were emptied, fire fighters used water from tankers from surrounding departments, as well as water pumped from the airport’s sea plane runway, which was located less than 100 yards away.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined and is still under investigation by the Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office.

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed