Search is ongoing for suspect(s) in fire that killed five

The deadliest fire in San Marcos history occurred early the morning of July 20 at the Iconic Village apartments on North LBJ Drive. Five residents died and numerous others were injured — including Zachary Sutterfield, who received burns over 70 percent of his body and head trauma. More than 200 residents of the complex were left homeless, and many people lost all they owned.

The fire began at about 4:30 a.m. at Iconic Village and engulfed Building 500 there before spreading to Building 300. One building at the neighboring Vintage Pads complex was also damaged in the fire. Fire departments from Kyle, Buda, New Braunfels, South Hays, Seguin and Canyon Lake assisted San Marcos firefighters in extinguishing the blaze.

The day after the fire, city officials reported that there were five missing apartment residents. In the following days, five bodies were recovered at the scene. The five were James Miranda, Haley Frizzell, Belinda Moatz, David Ortiz and Dru Estes.

The families of each of the victims, plus Sutterfield’s family and numerous Iconic Village residents who were injured in the fire, have filed or joined lawsuits against Iconic Village owners San Marcos Green Investors and management company Elevate Multifamily. Some are also suing individuals Thomas Steubing and Deborah Jones, who were managers at the complex.

The building that was fully engulfed by the flames did not have a sprinkler system installed, nor was it required to because of its age. San Marcos Fire Marshal Kelly Kistner said the building was constructed in 1970, and at the time, sprinkler systems were not a requirement. If the building had undergone major work, the addition of sprinklers would have been required. Investigators spoke with residents, some of whom have said they did not hear any smoke detectors or other alarms go off to alert them to the fire. Officials said at the most recent press conference regarding the fire that there is audio and video footage of the alarms sounding the morning of the fire, but officials could not give specifics on when they went off and how many went off.

After months of investigating and processing evidence, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms declared the fire “incendiary,” meaning that it was caused by an intentional human action. Thus, ATF special agent in charge Fred Milanowski said at a press conference, “That means this is a criminal investigation now.”

The ATF is offering up to $10,000 for information from the public about the fire. The number to call with information is 1-888-ATFTIPS.

“We are confident there are people in the public that have heard something either before this event happened or since it happened that can help us in our investigation,” Milanowski said.

In December, the five deaths from the fire were ruled a homicide. Hays County Precinct 1, Place 2 Justice of the Peace Maggie Moreno said that the cause of death for Frizzell and Ortiz was thermal injuries. For Moats, Estes and Miranda, the cause of death was thermal injuries and the inhalation of the products of combustion.

“The manner of death for all 5 victims is homicide,” Moreno stated.