The Killeen Fire Department fights a fire March 2, 2025, at a storage facility in Killeen, Texas, that held the household goods of service members at Fort Cavazos moving to new duty stations. (City of Killeen)
AUSTIN, Texas — Nearly 200 military families at Fort Cavazos could be affected by a massive fire in Killeen on Sunday that destroyed an apartment building and a storage facility holding the household goods of service members moving to new duty stations.
“This is a terrible situation for our people who have lost their goods or had them damaged,” said Lt. Gen. Kevin Admiral, commander of III Armored Corps and Fort Cavazos, which is in Killeen. “While we are grateful nobody was injured, we recognize this is a tremendous loss and an incredibly stressful event for everyone affected. We are committed to supporting our soldiers, families and Army civilians through this, from start to finish.”
In total, 18 apartment units were destroyed, displacing 36 residents, along with two commercial buildings, according to the Killeen Fire Department. Two additional commercial buildings were damaged.
Fort Cavazos confirmed soldiers did live in the apartment complex and were displaced, but the exact number was not available.
Among the damaged buildings were warehouses used by Scobey Moving and Storage and Mayflower Movers, which support military families moving to new duty stations. There were 128 military families with household goods at the site who were notified Thursday of the loss, according to a representative of the company who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Mayflower and Scobey will provide support and updates as more information comes available, said Eily Cummings, a spokeswoman for Mayflower.
“From the time we were notified of the fire, the safety of everyone involved has been our top priority,” she said. “We understand the concern the fire has caused our valued military customers and their families. Their belongings are invaluable, and we are working urgently with local authorities to assess the impact.”
The Killeen Fire Department fights a fire March 2, 2025, at an apartment complex in Killeen, Texas, that left 36 people displaced, including soldiers assigned to Fort Cavazos. (City of Killeen)
Army Emergency Relief, a nonprofit that provides financial support to soldiers, said it is projecting up to 187 families could experience loss from the fire. Those affected are eligible for a $1,000 grant and money has been set aside to help those in need, said Sean Ryan, spokesman for the nonprofit.
“AER’s financial assistance is designed to provide a safety net for those who need it most, and we’re committed to helping our soldiers and families recover from this incident,” said Tony Grinston, CEO of Army Emergency Relief.
Fort Cavazos said Thursday that it does not yet have a complete count of the number of families affected and it is working with U.S. Transportation Command, the Defense Department entity that manages military moves, to determine how many soldiers lost property in the fire. Officials from TRANSCOM will visit the damaged warehouse to conduct a loss assessment.
“The command will activate its Emergency Family Action Center on Fort Cavazos and staff the center with experts who will assist affected personnel,” according to Fort Cavazos.
The Killeen Fire Department said it received a call about a grass fire that had spread to storage boxes at about 1:02 p.m. Sunday near the intersection of Atkinson Avenue and Liberty Street on the city’s north side. The boxes were stacked high, and wind gusts were above 30 miles per hour. Soon, a second call came in that embers had ignited the roof of the nearby Liberty Manor Apartments.
Killeen Fire Chief James Kubinski said the fire was one of the largest that he had seen in the city.
“Commanders had to make quick decisions on what structures to prioritize. They made some great decisions and in that, we kept it to four damaged structures, as it could have been a whole lot worse, given the high winds,” he said.
An investigation to determine the cause is ongoing, according to the fire department.
