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The Brownsville Fire Department held back from the June 18 explosion of SpaceX’s Starship S36 “due to the unprecedented danger of cascading explosions, any of which could have led to catastrophic loss of life or further property damage.”

That’s according to an incident report sent by City Manager Helen Ramirez to Marisela Cortez, a SpaceX employee, and Kent Myers, the city administrator of the newly incorporated municipality Starbase.

Starship S36 exploded at approximately 11:05 p.m., according to the incident report obtained by MyRGV.com. The scene of the explosion on Massey’s Road was cleared at 12:50 a.m., according to the report.

In an email to Cortez and Myers, the city manager said: “We hope that you are well, as important partners in our community, we wanted to share the following incident report prepared by our Public Safety Departments.”

Mayor John Cowen Jr., Police Chief Felix Sauceda, Fire Chief Jarrett V. Sheldon and City Attorney Will Trevino were copied on the email.

The incident report said that Brownsville firefighters, police and “SpaceX Emergency Teams” were involved in the response. The document said Brownsville dispatch “received the first in a wave of 911 calls reporting a loud explosion and orange sky in the vicinity of Massey’s Road.”

Two minutes later, “SpaceX security formally confirmed a major explosion had occurred on or near their launch support facility.”

The Brownsville Fire Department made it to the scene at 11:29 p.m., according to the report. However, due to the “volatile nature of the incident,” firefighters were staged in a designated “cold zone” with SpaceX emergency personnel about a mile from “the site.”

“Crews quickly confirmed the presence of active flames involving both vertical and horizontal takes, which were identified to be storing oxygen and methane and posing extreme explosive potential,” the report stated. “Fire command ordered all units to hold position and reassess the threat environment using aerial drone surveillance provided by SpaceX. These overhead views offered real-time thermal imaging and situational analysis.”

The report said the fire department remained on full readiness on standby “and was prepared to initiate suppression efforts if conditions stabilized or if residual fires reignited following a potential secondary blast.”

The incident report said more than a dozen calls “reported wall vibrations, ground shaking, and visible flames, some located miles from the source.”

At 11:19 p.m., SpaceX security confirmed the ship had exploded “with no injuries reported” — 10 minutes before emergency personnel from Brownsville made it to the scene.

At 11:52 p.m., “Fire crews confirmed active ignition of vertical and horizontal tanks containing highly combustible gases, including methane and oxygen.”

The report describes the explosion as “not a standard fire event,” saying it includes pressurized tanks of highly flammable gases, including methane and oxygen; flames impinging on containment structures; an unpredictable environment for “real potential” of a second explosion; while firefighters confirmed “active ignition of vertical and horizontal tanks containing highly combustible gases, including methane and oxygen.”

The report notes that first responders held back because of the potential explosion “due to the unprecedented danger of cascading explosions, any of which could have led to catastrophic loss of life or further property damage.”

911 CALLS

That night, Brownsville received “an astonishing 123 calls for service, a major surge in activity for any period, let alone overnight.”

The calls came from Brownsville “and surrounding cities, with citizens reporting explosions, structural shaking, visible flames, and glowing skies.”

The result was more than an explosion. There was another impact.

“The explosion and resulting fire delivered a devastating dual impact to Brownsville’s emergency services: it demanded a high-risk, sustained field response while simultaneously flooding dispatch with an overwhelming volume of 911 calls.”

The report said dispatchers had to “rapid-fire triage, making split-second decisions to prioritize life-threatening emergencies.”

“At the same time, public panic rippled across the region, and command staff had to rapidly reallocate emergency resources across the city, doing everything possible to maintain critical response levels under intense and mounting pressure, compounding the demands (placed) on an already strained emergency response system.”

The report describes the explosion as “one of the most logistically demanding and tactically complex incidents in recent memory.”

“It tested the city’s capacity to manage a high-risk industrial emergency while preserving safety and operational continuity across the community,” the report stated.

That document said the explosion also highlights the importance of interagency coordination and a disciplined incident command during large-scale hazardous situations.

The report said Brownsville first responders will collaborate with SpaceX to “evaluate response performance, identify areas for improvement, and enhance preparedness for future incidents.”

“We continue to value our collaboration and would like to continue to actively work with SpaceX and Starbase to assist with the financial and training cost of supporting the Brownsville Police Department and the Brownsville Fire Department regarding critical services rendered during the response. Thank you and please let me know if you have any questions,” Ramirez said in the emailed report.

MyRGV.com obtained the report through a Texas Public Information Act request seeking all communications between Starbase with local municipalities, including Cameron County, Port Isabel and South Padre Island, and SpaceX, regarding the June 18 explosion.

This is the only document provided to the news organization.

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