Concrete ‘pancaked down' into tower's subfloors in downtown Fort Worth hotel explosion

The explosion that blew out multiple floors of a hotel onto the streets of downtown Fort Worth on Monday also sent debris from two floors pancaking down into the subbasement, fire officials say.

In a briefing with the Fort Worth City Council during a work session Tuesday, Fort Worth Fire Chief Jim Davis said there was significant damage to the W.T. Waggoner Building, specifically to the first floor, basement, and sub-basement.

The nearly 104-year-old 20-story tower is the current home of the Sandman Signature Fort Worth Hotel. An explosion on Monday sent glass and part of the building's facade onto 8th Street, damaging the sidewalk and road. Inside the building, there is tremendous damage to the first floor and subfloors under the building and street.

Davis said while they haven't confirmed the cause of the blast yet they believe gas was involved. They are not sure, yet, if a gas leak caused the explosion, or if the explosion caused a gas leak. He reiterated the point in a press conference Tuesday evening, saying it was a case of which came first, "the chicken or the egg."

Davis said Atmos Energy, who provides gas for the hotel, has been cooperating with their investigation. Atmos told NBC 5 that they isolated gas service after receiving the explosion call on Monday and turned off gas in the affected area. The company said it conducted more safety checks and is working to restore service outside the affected area.

The Texas Railroad Commission said while it does not oversee the gas pipelines inside the hotel, it has safety jurisdiction over Atmos and the pipeline system outside the hotel. The commission said Atmos "has been testing lines to check for any issues such as leaks, and that investigation is ongoing." The commission has an inspector on the scene to make sure that Atmos follows state and federal protocol on investigations.

Davis, meanwhile, said his crews have experience dealing with gas explosions and explained to council members how they work.

“It finds the lowest places in buildings. So, below street level, the basements. And then, at this time of year, furnaces kick on, hot water kicks on, stuff like that. And if it’s in that flammable range of not too lean and not too rich to burn, then it finds that ignition source and that is what potentially causes something like this to happen in people’s homes and etcetera," Davis said.

He said in this case, the hotel was damaged from the basement to the second floor.

Police and fire investigators, Davis said, confirmed they have found no evidence the explosion was intentional or part of any nefarious plot.

"We have absolutely no indication that there was any intent by anyone to cause this explosion," said Fort Worth Chief of Police Neil Noakes.

Peter Matthews/Fort Worth Fire Department

The chief told the City Council on Tuesday he was at City Hall on Monday and heard the explosion and saw the windows rattle. Though he was nearby, Noakes said when he arrived at the scene there were police and firefighters already at the hotel.

"It was chaotic. It was devastating. It was kind of hard to see here … in the heart of Fort Worth," Noakes said. "What I saw was Fort Worthians doing what they do. I saw residents who were coming out, people that worked at businesses, they were assisting those that were injured."

Two of those neighbors helping out were Jordan Bass and Brandon Hernández. Bass said he had happened to take a different route home on Monday, one that put him at the right place at the right time.

“I was just walking home and it hit on the left side of me, 'BOOM!' And I look over and there’s just smoke and everything just pouring out sideways," he said. “Metal starts hitting the ground and there were big chunks of metal, probably 20-pound pieces of metal, hitting everywhere."

“I just remember hearing the metal, 'Ting, ting, ting, ting.’ Everywhere," Bass added.

He said that's when he noticed Hernández, who had come to the hotel to pick up his wife from work.

“He was hollering at them to jump out the window, and I was there to help him catch them," Bass said.

He said he and Hernández caught eight women who leaped from the second floor.

They were screaming, they were kind of frantic," Bass said. “They were jumping, so that gives you how scared they were.

He described a chaotic scene, seeing one man with his face in a valet cart.

“His face was just blood everywhere," he said. "Somebody’s picking him up at the same time, but the women just kept coming. I had to just keep catching them."

Davis said when firefighters first arrived they found multiple victims inside the hotel on the collapsed floor and that they quickly worked to remove them from the building. Davis said that even though no people are unaccounted for, firefighters swept the basement and sub-basement overnight with FEMA cadaver dogs just to make sure they didn't miss anyone.

No other victims were found in the building overnight, officials said.

Davis said a city engineer confirmed the building wasn't under an imminent threat of collapse and that it was safe for first responders to work inside. Additionally, FEMA brought in a specialized collapsed structure engineer to make sure that as debris was moved around during search and rescue operations first responders didn't create any further problems.

PHOTOS: Hotel explosion rocks downtown Fort Worth

8th Street, where debris damaged the roadway outside of the hotel, will be closed for an extended period while it's determined how to move forward with fixing the road. A hole was visible in the road on Monday afternoon, exposing the building's subfloors.

Davis said firefighters hoped to be able to turn control of the building back over to the owner sometime Tuesday night.

The number of people injured in the blast continues to stand at 21. Davis said the patient who was in critical condition was taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas for treatment of burns. Four others were in serious condition and 15 were taken to area hospitals for a variety of minor injuries.

Davis said he hoped to reassure the community that the explosion was not intentional, that they were safe, and that the fire department was prepared to help if someone believed they smelled natural gas.

"We respond to incidents like this," Davis said Tuesday, reminding the public that firefighters respond to calls about gas leaks. "Our message to the public is if you have a threat of this or you're concerned about this, call. Always call."

If you suspect a natural gas leak, leave the area immediately, and from a safe distance call 911 and Atmos Energy's 24-hour toll-free emergency number at 1-866-322-8667.

HOTEL GUESTS, WORKERS RECALL POWERFUL BLAST

Angela Cockroft, who was staying at the hotel with her husband, said they smelled gas before the explosion. The Prosper couple checked in Sunday night and were planning to stay through Wednesday for a getaway from their kids. Cockroft said they had just come back to the hotel and were about to get on the elevator when her husband noticed the smell. Seconds later, she said, they felt the elevator shake.

"We just kind of looked at each other, like, 'What was that?' We thought the elevator was malfunctioning, or something," she said.

Then, she said the elevator shook again, and they called 911.

“At that point, debris started to fall, and the lights went out. And then, it started to get smoky," Cockroft said.

She said they waited until the shaking and falling debris stopped before getting out of the elevator and taking the stairs back down to go outside.

“Lungs and throat are ... agitated and enflamed, I guess ... from breathing in the smoke and debris," she said. "Still on edge, I guess."

They returned Tuesday to get their car.

“It was covered in glass when we got to the lot. We had to move debris … from around it to be able to drive it out. The sunroof is shattered," she said.

Mark Montgomery checked into the hotel about a half hour before the blast. He was getting settled into his top-floor room when he heard a loud rumble, then looked out his window to see smoke and debris.

"I'm going, 'What do I do?'" he recalled.

Montgomery made his way down a pitch-black stairwell to the second floor where he saw piles of debris. He was helped out of a second-story window by a firefighter on a ladder.

"I get down and I was so grateful. It's like when people kiss the ground when they get to land," Montgomery said.

ROADS CLOSED IN 'HOT ZONE' AROUND HOTEL

Several roads in Fort Worth also remain closed on Tuesday morning and the area within is classified as a hot zone or immediate danger zone.

Throckmorton Street is closed from West 7th Street to West 9th Street, Houston Street is closed from West 7th Street. to West 9th Street., and West 8th Street is closed from Throckmorton to Main Street.

People who work within the hot zone are not cleared to return to their offices yet. Police said those outside the hot zone are welcome to conduct business as usual.

The route for Saturday's Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo parade is planned to head north on Houston Street from 9th Street, going directly by the hotel. Cleanup is expected to take several days and officials are looking into how the area can be made safe for the parade. If Houston Street is still in the "hot zone" on Saturday, the plan for the parade may be altered.

NBC 5 News