Southeast Austin apartment fire leaves $3M in damages

AUSTIN, Texas – The Austin Fire Department is investigating a large fire that broke out in Southeast Austin overnight.

It was an affordable housing project that was still under construction. There are millions in damages.

Sage at Franklin Park apartment fire

The backstory:

AFD said the fire was so big they had to fight it from the outside.

“You could hear the fire roaring. I’ve never experienced anything like that,” said Morgan Miller, who lives in the neighborhood.

Miller said a neighbor alerted her about the growing fire nearby.

“I looked over and there was just a fire billowing, blasting. We were hearing, maybe not explosions, but things breaking, and it was pretty intense,” said Miller.

The fire was at a South Pleasant Valley Road apartment building. 

“We started worrying about the pets, we started grabbing the leashes, we started packing, you know, quick-to-go bags just in case we had to go. The wind was really kicked up during the first few minutes, and it was billowing like that. So, you know, our first thought was, oh my gosh, we’re going to have to evacuate,” said Miller.

Credit: Austin Fire Department

Thick smoke and large flames could be seen throughout the building.

“There was fire showing on at least three sides of the building and on all three floors. So, there were a lot of fires. There was so much fire it was unsafe for our firefighters to enter the building,” said AFD Captain Sean Cummings.

Firefighters say the three-story apartment complex was still under construction. The danger of the fire forced crews to adjust their approach.

“Our crews were able to attack the fire with large master streams from our aerial trucks and from our engines. Later on, there was a collapse within the interior of the building itself,” said Cummings.

AFD says the damages are estimated at $3 million.

“There were embers coming from the large fire that were moving towards a nearby neighborhood. So, we did use reverse 911 call to ask for evacuations in those areas in case the fire did spread. Luckily our firefighters were able to stop that from happening,” said Cummings.

According to signage on the property, Sage at Franklin Park Apartments was scheduled to open in winter 2026. The developer, Dominium, says the project had plans to add 275 new apartments for low-income households.

“From this being trees to them putting all the foundation down to everything. We’ve witnessed it firsthand. So, you know, it’s disappointing to see that another community is just going to have to wait to get built up,” said Miller.

There were no reports of injuries.

The cause of the fire is unknown.