That House Was Loaded
Angleton, TX
Constant ammunition fire kept Angleton firefighters away for more than an hour Friday night as they watched a trailer home burn to the ground.
Firefighters responded to the fire in the 3700 block of CR 34 at about 7:30 p.m. Friday. As they pulled up, the heat was setting off ammunition inside the trailer, preventing them from getting near it, Angleton Assistant Fire Chief Hardwick Bieri said.
“I was told there were guns and ammunition all throughout the house,†Bieri said. “We backed away because it got too dangerous.â€
Standing a few feet away was Ben Salazar, 52, who lived at the home with his son, Adrian Salazar, 16.
When asked where he would stay Friday night, Ben Salazar said solemnly, “I don’t know what I’m going to do.â€
Adrian Salazar told firefighters he was smoking a cigarette in his bedroom and went to the bathroom. When he came out, he noticed his room on fire, Bieri said.
“Next thing I know, there’s a flame by my door,†Adrian Salazar told firefighters.
Ben Salazar had lived in the trailer home since 1990.
“I was outside mowing,†he said. “He came running out of the house and it was on fire.â€
Bieri said it was not known exactly what kinds of ammunition were in the trailer, but shotgun shells and small arms rounds were among them.
“We weren’t going to take a chance,†he said. “There were some high-powered shells.â€
While firefighters monitored the blaze, insulation melted off an electrical wire, causing a transformer across the road to catch fire, Bieri said.
“There has not been a quiet moment,†he said as rounds of ammunition continued to fire.
Three Angleton fire engines and two Rosharon engines responded to the fire, and most of them had left by 9 p.m. Ammunition continued going off intermittently, and Bieri said firefighters stayed on the scene to monitor it late Friday.
No nearby structures caught fire and there were no injuries.
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