Fire destroys gaming stands at State Fair of Texas, officials say

Dallas firefighters worked to put out hotspots after battling a blaze that destroyed at least two gaming stands at the State Fair of Texas early Tuesday morning, officials said. 

According to Dallas Fire-Rescue, just before 7:10 a.m., crews were called to a reported fire at a balloon-pop stand on the Midway. When they arrived, large plumes of black smoke were visible.

Gordita's owner, Lupita Valerio, saw the fire start and went to grab a fire extinguisher. 

"When I went back, the fire was even bigger," Valero said. 

She was quick to call 911 after realizing her small extinguisher wouldn't cut it.   

Firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze about 15 minutes after arriving on the scene. But the balloon-pop stand, and the neighboring duck pond stand, along with the prizes, including large stuffed animals, were destroyed. 

The State Fair of Texas was not open at the time of the fire, and no injuries were reported, officials said.

Investigators determined the fire was sparked by an electrical short.   

As crews worked to put out hotspots within several of the stuffed animals and other prizes, and clean up the area, a perimeter was set up to keep fairgoers safe. 

The State Fair of Texas still opened at 10 a.m., and the Midway opened as scheduled at 11 a.m. Tuesday with that fence around the affected area. 

"The safety of our fairgoers, vendors, volunteers, and team members remains our top priority," fair officials said in a statement. 

Karissa Condoianis, senior VP of public relations for the State Fair of Texas, said work is already underway to rebuild the two stands destroyed in the fire. 

"If I know our Midway operations team, they are going to do everything within their power to ensure that this can safely operate as quickly as possible," she said. "...Their small business owners. They need to operate 24 days not only them means everything to their families."