State Fair of Texas Midway games damaged by early morning fire
Fire burns Midway games at State Fair of Texas
Fire damaged part of the Midway at the State Fair of Texas on Tuesday morning. It could have been worse, if not for a little known fact about all those plush prizes.
DALLAS - Dallas Fire-Rescue firefighters extinguished a fire that significantly damaged a gaming stand at the State Fair of Texas early Tuesday morning.
What we know:
Dallas Fire-Rescue units were dispatched to the Texas State Fair around 7 a.m. on Tuesday for a reported fire.
Responding firefighters discovered fire coming from a "balloon pop" game. Crews quickly extinguished the fire.
State Fair of Texas officials said the game stand sustained significant damage. Firefighters also had to put out smoldering hot spots located within several stuffed animals and other prizes.
The fair was not open for business at the time, and no injuries were reported.
What they're saying:
Lupita Valerio, the owner of Lupita’s Gorditas, told FOX 4 she called 911 when she saw the flames. She said she arrives at her vendor stand every morning around 5:30 a.m. to start making her breakfast items.
"When I was making breakfast, I was hearing the pop, pop, pop, pop," she said. "But I thought it was like a shooting or something. I don’t know. But then my worker came and told me, ‘Lupita, there’s a fire out there.’ So, we came out and I turned my gas off right away because I had it on. I turned it off. And we saw that we couldn’t get it with the fire extinguisher, so I called 911. ‘Hey, there’s a fire in the fair!’ But they came right away. I give a big, big applause to the firemans because they got here fast."
The State Fair of Texas released a statement thanking firefighters for their fast response and thanking the public for their cooperation and concern.
"I think right now, they're trying to assess the damage, and I'm pretty emotional about this. But I know that our team will do everything within our power to get them back up and running as quickly and safely as possible," said Karissa Condoianis, the State Fair of Texas' senior vice president of public relations. "There are small business owners who operate out here on our Midway. So our goal is to not have as big of an impact as possible. We wanna ensure that we keep it safe, but also those that are able to continue to operate."
What's next:
FOX 4's cameras captured video of crews working to clean up the affected area before the fair opens at 10 a.m. The Midway is expected to open at 11 a.m. on Tuesday.
What we don't know:
Investigators are still looking into the cause of the fire.
The Source: The information in this article comes from Dallas Fire-Rescue, State Fair of Texas officials, and witness interviews.