Six people hurt in explosion at downtown Houston high-rise, fire officials say

HOUSTON — An explosion inside a hotel under construction in downtown Houston injured six people late Thursday morning, according to the fire department. 

The construction workers were rushed to Memorial Hermann Hospital in the Texas Medical Center.  

“They are going to be things like burns, lacerations, cuts, things along these lines of varying severities,” Houston Fire Department Communications Director Brent Taylor told KHOU 11. He said none of the injuries were believed to be life-threatening.

The blast blew out windows and part of the exterior walls on two sides are bulging out. Photos released by HFD show extensive damage inside the building and a large hole in the roof. 

Thankfully, there weren’t many people on Texas Avenue when shattered glass and debris rained down. 

Uninjured workers said they ran downstairs and outside as soon as the explosion happened.

The intersection of Texas Avenue and Austin Street could be closed for days. 

HFD said a bank of tankless water heaters exploded around 11:08 a.m. at a building located at 1319 Texas Avenue near Austin Street, just west of Discovery Green. They initially thought it was a boiler.

There doesn’t appear to be much, if any, fire damage.

The building is a 17-story Holiday Inn Express and Staybridge Suites hotel project that has been under construction since October 2023. The 275-room development was expected to open this month. It is one of the larger hotel projects underway in downtown Houston.

Fire officials said the explosion occurred near the top of the building and blew out windows and siding. Witness video and images from Air 11 showed visible damage at the roof level, with debris falling onto the roadway below.

Nearby resident Paul Navejar, who lives in the Catalyst high-rise, described the moment he heard the blast.

“Just after 11 o’clock, I was watching TV with my dog and I heard a loud boom,” he said. “So I went to the side where I could see the building, and at that point, I could see glass raining down and parts of the building like flapping in the breeze, and that’s when I knew there’d been an explosion.”

Navejar said he even spoke to some workers who ran out of the building.
“A couple of the guys I talked to said that they were on the floor and that they, they believe parts of the building, you know, the ceiling collapsed in on them,” he said. “… So I asked, ‘did anyone get hurt?’ and they’re like, ‘I don’t know, we just ran out of there as fast as we could.’”

Houston Fire Department Communications Director Brant Taylor said six people were taken to Memorial Hermann in the Texas Medical Center with burns, lacerations and cuts. He emphasized that none of the injuries are considered life-threatening.

All of the victims were construction workers. 

It could have been much worse if the busy intersection below had been filled with Astros fans or other pedestrians and rush-hour traffic. 

“If it’s ever going to happen, if it’s a good time to happen, would be now because there were really only workers in the area and people who live here walking their dogs and things like that and even the hotels across the street are pretty quiet,” Navejar said.

Taylor said the explosion was initially reported as a boiler issue. Multiple groups are investigating, including the HFD Arson Division, the Life Safety Bureau inspectors, and City of Houston Public Works permitting inspectors. The federal agency OSHA, which oversees workplace safety, is expected to get involved as well.

Coincidentally, there’s a banner on the construction zone fence that says, quote, “committed to zero accidents.”

According to Taylor, the incident prompted a large-scale response beyond a typical high-rise fire, with hazmat teams also dispatched. 

“So you’ve got kind of the standard response you have for a house fire or apartment fire, then that escalates with a high-rise — and then because there was a report of explosion, we also had hazmat that was added,” Taylor said.

He said workers were the only ones inside when it happened. Some were able to evacuate on their own, while firefighters assisted others out of the building.

Precinct 1 Constable Alan Rosen’s office said multiple agencies are assisting at the scene.

Authorities are urging the public to avoid the downtown area near the blast site.

• Use Fannin and La Branch as alternate routes for southbound traffic.
• Avoid Texas Avenue, Caroline, Prairie, San Jacinto and Austin Streets while crews work in the area.

Taylor warned that surrounding streets may remain closed for hours or even days while the building’s structural integrity is assessed. He also said the closures are likely to affect Houston’s evening rush hour.

Chad Pinkerton is a personal injury lawyer who deals with commercial construction incidents. He says that if workers were closer to the tankless water heaters, there could have been life-threatening injuries or deaths.

“I’ve handled a case almost exactly like this that was much more catastrophic,” Pinkerton said.

He says that explosions like this are usually from improper installations or poor inspections. A gas leak or excessive internal pressure could also lead to an explosion.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is expected to investigate and review the site safety protocols, training and job hazards.

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