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Cause of fire at Ponderosa Pet Resort that killed 75 dogs is still unclear

The Georgetown Fire Department said it is confident in the fire's area of origin at a press conference Friday.

GEORGETOWN, Texas — The Georgetown Fire Department provided an update on the fire at Ponderosa Pet Resort fire that killed 75 dogs last month at a press conference Friday.

Georgetown Fire Chief John Sullivan said the source of the fire is still being investigated. The department believes there was only one source, but “there are probably elements that contribute to that ignition that still have to be ruled out.”

Sullivan said the department believes the fire developed around 10:40 p.m. based on video surveillance. For the first 12 minutes, the smoke conditions remained in the area of origin, which was on the left side of the building in the kennel area.  

However, around 10:52 p.m., smoke began to travel through the kennel. Sullivan said there was a “discernible change” and fans and other systems helped oxygen and air move around the building to fuel the fire.

At 10:54, there was no outside indication of the fire. Only five seconds later, Sullivan said surveillance captured the scene of the fire outside the building.

The Georgetown Fire Department responded in 4 minutes and 48 seconds from dispatch to arrival. Sullivan said the fire had nothing to do with the speed of response.

The department does know that there were no supervised smoke or heat detection devices on site. There was also no fire suppression system in place.

Sullivan said, based on what he saw when he entered the building, that he believes the dogs died due to toxins from the smoke and not the physical fire itself.

“There’s 59 families that are affected, and I continue to feel frustrated and in shock that I can’t report that there were any survivors,” Sullivan said.

To stop a similar event from happening again, the Georgetown Fire Department has created a definition for "Animal Housing or Care Facilities" for fire codes. Sullivan said the department will bring it forward soon. 

The department attended an International Code Council meeting in Pittsburgh to support code changes, but the author of the item did not show up to the meeting, so the item was pulled. 

Sullivan also said the department is now working with third parties to continue the investigation. He said he is confident in the fire's area of origin, but there are still several probable causes that need to be ruled out. 

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