Abandoned grain silos, elevator in south Fort Worth catch fire Wednesday night

Firefighters extinguished a fire Wednesday evening at the abandoned and dilapidated grain elevator and silos complex in Worth Heights, according to the Fort Worth Fire Department.

Fort Worth fire crews were dispatched to the complex at 3700 Alice Street — in south Fort Worth just west of Interstate 35W — in response to a call about a fire.

When crews arrived at the scene, smoke was coming from several floors of the silos, according to the fire department.

Burning contents inside the building caused the fire and black smoke, the fire department said.

The fire was contained and no one was injured. The cause of the fire is being investigated.

The fire comes after the Worth Heights neighborhood recently expressed concerns about the building, hoping to have it demolished.

Fort Worth’s Buildings Standard Commission voted unanimously on March 25 that the building is substandard and hazardous and ordered the property owner to repair or demolish the building within 30 days.

The buildings have damaged construction materials with loose and falling sheet metal, broken windows, corroded piping, and deteriorated awnings. In addition, the property is not secure and there have been problems with illegal dumping, multiple fires, and the presence of numerous unauthorized individuals using the property, the city said.

Previous reporting by the Star-Telegram shows the silos and grain elevator date to 1924, when Fort Worth was considered the grain capital of the Southwest, according to an archivist at the Fort Worth Library. The complex was owned by the Fort Worth Elevator Co. The structure does not have an historic designation.

Staff writer Kamal Morgan contributed to this report.