Explosion at Historic Ft. Worth Hotel Injures 21 People

An explosion at one of Downtown Ft. Worth’s historic hotels on Monday afternoon injured more than 20 people on Monday afternoon.

The explosion took place at the Sandman Signature Hotel at 810 Houston Street in the city’s downtown area at just after 3 p.m. According to Ft. Worth Police, calls came in for a fire at the hotel at 3:32 p.m. and police and the fire department responded immediately.

“The Fort Worth Fire Department responded to the structure fire call and it was immediately updated to an explosion call at the same location. The Fort Worth Police Department assisted with street closures and clearing out parking garages in the immediate area,” the Ft. Worth police said in a statement on Monday afternoon.

While police have not confirmed the cause of the explosion, when Fort Worth Fire arrived on the scene, personnel noticed an “odor of gas in the area.” Still, there is an ongoing investigation to determine the cause.

According to Ft. Worth Police, 21 people in total were injured—one critical and four seriously—and 14 of those were transported to a local hospital. That includes three employees of the Musume restaurant inside the hotel.

For the time being, the Sandman is not taking any bookings until further notice. Streets around the hotel remain closed on Tuesday morning, including Throckmorton St. and Houston St. between W 7 St. and W 9^th St.

The hotel opened just last year in April, but the building traces its roots back to 1920.

It was originally built for William Thomas Waggoner, the owner of the Waggoner Ranch, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The hotel is centrally located in the Ft. Worth area—it is a 30-minute drive from the Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport, and close to Six Flags Over Texas, LEGOLAND, and the Ft. Worth Zoo.