Two people, including a firefighter, were taken to the hospital after a massive fire at one of Houston’s popular marketplaces in northwest Harris County.
The Cy-Fair Fire Department responded to the fire at 12:25 p.m. at the Trader’s Village Flea Market after officials said it started in a small stall at about 12:25 p.m.
According to the fire marshal, the fire spread to 24 other stalls, but was contained to just one building.
A civilian and a firefighter were taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation but are expected to recover fully.
Thousands of people were said to be in attendance at the market at the time of the fire.
Many of them were panicking, while others were trying to take photos, and according to the fire marshal, they blocked entrances from firefighters.
“You just hear, ‘Boom, boom’, like if fireworks were going off, but like, stuff collapsing on it,” Brittney Romero, who worked at a nearby stall, said.
“It was just a lot and the smoke coming this way, so everybody started to run that way.”
“Instead of moving out the way, they were in the way,” Noe Martinez, who also works in a nearby stall, said. “It was aggravating because they were trying to see if people were OK or still in there. There was a lady crying because it was her stand.”
At this time, the cause of the fire is unknown, according to officials.
