One year ago 21 people were injured after an explosion at the Sandman Signature Hotel in downtown Fort Worth.
The explosion scattered debris across the 800 block of Houston Street. Fire department photos showed widespread damage to windows in the building. Some photos show exterior walls on the first and second floor ripped off, exposing office desks and chairs.
Here is a timeline of the major events of that day and what has happened since then.
Downtown Fort Worth businesses navigate aftermath of Sandman hotel explosion
Officials, workers and area residents started navigating the aftermath explosion. The owners of the newly-opened restaurant inside the hotel’s basement, Musume, waited to inspect the damage. Other establishments, farther from the explosion, did reopen. And some did their best to support first responders.
Fort Worth hotel explosion linked to natural gas leak
Twenty-four hours after the explosion, Fort Worth Fire Department Chief Jim Davis said investigators are confident the incident was connected to natural gas.
Fire and police worked with Atmos Energy, the hotel’s natural gas provider, to determine whether a gas leak caused the explosion or an explosion caused the gas leak.
Lawsuits start piling up
On Jan. 11, three days after the explosion, Tarrant County resident Christopher Medearis filed the first lawsuit in the aftermath of the explosion.
The next lawsuit was filed on Jan. 17 from David Seibolt of Johnson County Kansas.
By the end of January, eight more lawsuits were filed, mostly against the Sandman Hotel Group, Northland Properties, Rock Libations (which owns the Musume restaurant inside the hotel), and Atmos Energy.
First steps taken to renovate Sandman Signature Hotel
By the end of February, a commercial remodel permit was filed Jan. 30 for “selective demo for shoring” under the contractor First Onsite Property Restoration.
In a company statement, Northland Properties, the owner of the Sandman in Fort Worth, said it is dedicated to restoring the hotel’s historic downtown location and that there’s no indication that the integrity of the building is compromised, but notes that reopening will take time and is unlikely to happen in the coming months.
