Thanks to the timing and efforts of an officer with the Houston Police Department, a fire at a Houston business was snuffed before causing much damage.
While patrolling the area of Industrial Drive just before 2 a.m. last Thursday, Cpl. David Kidwell noticed smoke coming from the Opportunity Sheltered Industries building. As a result of Kidwell’s subsequent actions, firefighters with the City of Houston Fire Department responded to the blaze and were on the scene before it got out of control.
“David just happened to be coming through there and observed the smoke,” Houston Police Chief Jim McNiell said. “This is another good example of an officer being alert, seeing something that didn’t look normal and then investigating. He notified the appropriate people, and we’re very fortunate we didn’t lose a much-needed industry and service in our community.”
Opportunity Sheltered Industries manager Sharon Tyger said an inspector ruled Monday morning that fire was caused by “spontaneous combustion” from a load of kitchen rags that had been washed, dried and placed in a cart inside the laundry room of the workshop.
“The inspector believes it was similar to what a bale of hay would do in a barn,” Tyger said. “He said he could do it 100 times to try to get it to ignite and it never would.”
Tyger said security cameras picked up three flashes of light around 11 p.m. She believes the fire smoldered until Kidwell saw the smoke three hours later.
After closing Thursday and Friday, the workshop temporarily re-opened Monday in the former cabinet-making building west of Houston House. Tyger said the fire destroyed the laundry equipment in the room. She said the workshop should move back to its building with new laundry equipment in two weeks.
Tyger praised Kidwell’s alertness in noticing the smoke coming from the workshop.
“I don’t think there can be enough good things said about David,” she said.