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There are more questions than answers now that the Thursday's huge recycling center fire is out.
City and state officials are now investigating both the cause and the effects of the fire that consumed a West Side recycling center Thursday.
The fire at Isaac's Materials Handling, located at 5317 West Commerce, started around 3 p.m. Thursday and burned for hours.
 Your Comments Arson investigators were on the scene Friday. They performed a walk-through, but told News 4 they could not offer any comments on the cause of the fire just yet. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) said they are trying to find out if there are any contamination problems resulting from the fire. They took samples of the water runoff and expect to have the results back early next week. City environmental workers have monitors set up around the fire site. They said a cold front came through at the right time and blew most of the smoke out of the area. They do not expect any long term air quality problems.
At one time, 38 units were dispatched to fight the flames and as many as 100 firefighters were on the scene. The flames were so intense, a thick, black plume of smoke could be seen for miles. The fire spread into nearby grass and brush and threatened other nearby structures. Although no injuries were reported, two nearby homes also caught fire as flames spread. The business is registered with Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) as a scrap and waste recycling center. It is registered as a pallet mill in the Texas Forest Service's directory of the state's Forest Product Industries. One News 4 viewer said residents in the area were afraid something like this would occur. "This area contained countless empty fifty gallon plastic barrels of unknown residue, card board, and other piled up materials," Eiginio Rodriguez emailed News 4. "We as a community raised concerns to former Councilperson District 5 Patti Radle, Current Councilperson Lourdes Galvan and 311 code compliance in the past. It was an accident waiting to happen, but like in most cases, we are reactive versus proactive." One man witnessed the start of the fire and spoke with News 4 about what he saw. "I was washing my car earlier. They stored cardboard, and I heard a sparking noise of crackling fire,"said Michael Quiroga. "We took off. It sounded like sparks of wiring or something." Crews spent hours getting the fire under control. The raging fire also prompted officials to launch voluntary evacuations within a 2-block radius. San Antonio Police officers knocked on doors, letting some residents know they may have to leave their homes. The fire also caused problems for parents trying to pick up their kids from St. John Bosco School and traffic was a major problem in the area. About 2 blocks away from the fire, people standing along nearby streets watched and waited. Many streets were blocked off and no traffic was allowed in or out. Some residents waited outside for hours, hoping their homes would stay safe. Firefighters told News 4 it would take some time to get the fire completely put out. News 4's Jennifer Broome said the north winds blew smoke from the fire southward from Highway 90 all the way to Loop 1604 near the Bexar County/Atascosa Line. San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood held a brief press conference just after 5:30 p.m. Thursday. Hood said arson investigators were looking into the cause of the fire. He referred to the cleanup as a "long term operation" and said shelters had been set up for displaced residents. Hood explained that the San Antonio Fire Department was checking the water runoff to make sure there was no contamination. He added that since the runoff was considerable, there is a possibility Public Works will have to dam up some locations to prevent contamination.
Recycling Center Owner Pays Outstanding Fines
The owner of the West Side recycling center that burned Thursday is no longer wanted by police. News 4 learned late Friday that the owner of Isaac's Recycling Center paid off fines he owed to the city Friday afternoon, thereby canceling the outstanding warrants for his arrest. One of Jesus Isaac's daughters reportedly brought in cash to pay off the more than $4800 in fines. Jesus Isaac operates Isaac's Material Handling, which is located at 5317 West Commerce. According to the head of the city's Neighborhood Action and Neighborhood Revitalization Department, David Garza, Isaac had 4 outstanding warrants for his arrest. Garza told News 4 that his office has been receiving complaints from neighbors about the recycling center and its owner since 2003. "Since 2003, we have had 6 cases filed against this gentleman. Two of the 6 cases were filed are recently as Monday of this week," said Garza. According to Garza, the other 4 cases had already gone through the court. A judge found that Isaac was illegally using the location, since it is zoned industrial and multi-family. "He as been in violation because he was inappropriately using this property, storing debris, trash, flammable material," Garza told News 4. Garza added that Isaac was ordered to pay fines for those violations.
Wife of Warehouse Owner Speaks Out
News 4 talked to the wife of Jesus Isaac.
She said Thursday she wasn't aware of any actual arrest warrants out for her husband. She also didn't want to go on camera, but said neither she nor her husband were there when the fire broke out.
She also said they don't know what would have started the flames.
She told News 4 she's tried to contact city officials and has left her number, but had not heard back from anyone.
She did give News 4 this statement: "I would like to offer a heartfelt apology for everything everyone has gone through... This was an uninsured total loss for us, we were just trying to make a living. I also would like to say thank you for the fire department and everyone involved. Again I am sorry."
Daughter of Owner Says Father Not The Man Described in News
Jesus Isaac's daughter, Gigi Isaac, spoke exclusively to News 4's Kristina De Leon Friday morning. She said she doesn't know her father as the man being described in the news and called the fire a "deep blow" for her family. "San Antonio sees a man who made a huge mess and let it all burn to the ground...But to us...that was what paid to put food on the table," said Gigi Isaac. Gigi said her father was at home all of the Thursday night and that police never came to their home to arrest him. She told News 4 her family did not know about the outstanding warrants. She explained that Jesus Issac is the father of 7 girls and that she and her sisters were unaware of their parents' debt problems. Gigi said she is now very worried about her father's health. She told News 4 her father suffered a heart attack, she believes due to to the stress caused by the loss of their previous warehouse on Oriental and suits filed by the city that left them in debt. "If you turn and see from our point of view, you'd see a man struggling to keep it together, struggling to keep his faith," Gigi said. Gigi told News 4 her family is "very sorry for what has happened" and is grateful to the firefighters who battled the fire and for all of the work they have done and continue to do. She also expressed concern for all of the other people affected by the fire. "I'm sorry to all of the families that worried about their children, I'm sorry for all the traffic, and I'm sorry for everything that was out of line due to my family's fire," said Gigi. "Why this happened, only God knows, and I'm sorry for the mess that was caused.
More Than Two Dozen Residents Evacuated
More than two dozen people were evacuated from their homes because of the fire.
The Red Cross has set up a shelter at the Sonny Melendrez Community Center.
The fire was just feet from the back yard of the residents who were evacuated. Some families looked confused as they were pushed from their homes.
"Don't cry everything going to be alright," said Alberto Serrano as he tried to comforted his children.
The children were worried about their dogs they had to leave behind.
Mean while, on the other side of the fire, the Disabled American Veterans house was threatened as well.
"Actually the fire went on to our property and burned along the fence line," said Robert Sanchez of the Disabled American Veteran Association.
That house was also evacuated.
"I had to, the smoke had started to come over and some containers had blown up," explained Sanchez.
While all their homes are ok, people are asked to stay away as firefighters finish fighting the fire.
The city is stepping forward to help the evacuated residents. The city offered up buses that would take the displace people to the Sonny Melendrez Community Center. The center has cots are set up and food.
Figherfighters say once the fire wraps up, people will be allowed back in their homes.
Owner of Isaac's Material Handling Has A History of Fires
Some digging into Jesus Isaac's past reveals this isn't the first fire at one of his businesses. It's the third.
Back in March of 2001, Isaac's first recycling plant was near the intersection of Trinity and Oriental. It caught fire, but the fire was quickly put out. Neighbors complained about the center, but it remained open.
In January of 2003, their first recycling center caught fire again. That fire was much bigger. The center was destroyed by flames.
"We need to get this out of our community, for the safety of our children, our elderly and everyone that lives in the community," said Beatriz Mauricio in March of 2001.
Neighbors we talked to then were very upset about the conditions at the plant at the time.
News 4 spoke with Grace Isaac 5 years ago the first time one of their recycling centers caught fire.
She told us, "We didn't build the warehouse in the middle of a neighborhood. We bought the warehouse that the city built in the middle of the neighborhood to conduct our business."
Neighbors Were Vocal About Recycling Center Worries
City officials admit they knew about the code violations at Isaac's Material Handling. It would have been hard not to since neighbors of the recycling center were not shy about complaining about it. Complaints were filed years before fire ripped through Isaac's. Rebecca Garcia started writing in 2005, because many others had already called. In 2005, their chief complaint was 18-wheelers in their neighborhood. But frustration grew along with the piles of debris. Garcia showed News 4 numerous letters she wrote to the city about Isaac's Material Handling. She said the city did show up several times to check out their complaints. However, Garcia said it seemed it was always business as usual next door at the recycling center. What she didn't know was that the city issued several citations for violations ranging from piled up rubbish to the business operating in a neighborhood it shouldn't. News 4 asked Code Compliance Director David Garza why the center was allowed to stay open. He said it was a question that crossed his mind as well when he got involved. He told News 4 his staff is working to find the answer to that question and will publicly disclose it after a full investigation of all the complaints. Investigators say the city was looking into the process of shutting the business down before fire did it for them. "The system worked in terms of the reporting procedures and the follow up," said Garza, "Obviously, that was not the result that non of us wanted no one wanted that fire to occur." Rebecca Garcia said she saw something like the Thursday's fire coming a long time ago. The city said it was premature to look at changing any policies. Current policies are to cite the business owner, then take action to shut it down.
News 4 and WOAI.com will bring you the latest information on the recycling center fire investigation as it becomes available.
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