It was a Sunday in February when everything Johnny and Irene Sanchez owned went up in flames. On February 7, the San Antonio Fire Department raced to a home on Fillmore near Dugas Drive on the Far West Side and found a scene that looked like something out of a disaster movie: two cars fully engulfed, and the house right behind them going with it.
A neighbor who happened to be returning from church, Anthony Sloat, said he heard loud “pops” before the fire broke out. He snapped photos of the blaze. CPS Energy crews also responded and at least 36 nearby customers lost power that day, according to the utility’s outage map. At the time, no injuries were publicly reported. However, behind the scenes, the situation for the Sanchezes was much worse than initial reports suggested.
Now, months later, the couple is fighting back in court. Johnny and Irene Sanchez filed a lawsuit Monday in Bexar County’s 166th District Court seeking more than $1 million in damages. They allege the explosion that torched their home, their Toyota RAV4, and their Chevrolet Silverado was no accident waiting to happen on its own but rather the direct result of negligence by the companies responsible for keeping that infrastructure safe.
The lawsuit names three defendants: CPS Energy, KBS Electrical Distributors, Inc., and JSHP Transformer USA Corporation. The couple says surveillance video captured what happened, and what it shows is damning. The explosion, according to the filing, originated at or near a CPS Energy electrical transformer box sitting right in their front yard adjacent to the driveway where both of their vehicles were parked. Within moments, the filing states, the RAV4 and the Silverado were both completely engulfed. The home suffered what the lawsuit describes as catastrophic structural damage. The couple suffered smoke inhalation, physical injuries, and psychological trauma, and were displaced from their residence.
What the Lawsuit Actually Claims
The core of the Sanchezes’ case rests on negligence. By naming not just CPS Energy but also KBS Electrical Distributors and JSHP Transformer USA, the lawsuit casts a wide net over the chain of responsibility for that transformer. This matters because it raises questions beyond just whether the power company maintained its equipment properly. It also asks whether the equipment itself was fit for use in the first place and whether the companies that supplied and manufactured it share any responsibility for what happened.
Surveillance footage is often the kind of evidence that can make or break a case like this, and the Sanchezes say they have it. The footage allegedly shows the origin point of the explosion clearly. If that evidence holds up, it significantly strengthens their argument that this was not a random, unforeseeable event but a failure rooted in equipment or maintenance problems someone should have caught.
The couple is seeking compensation for property damage, personal injuries, displacement costs, and the psychological toll of watching their home and vehicles disappear in a matter of minutes.
This Is Not CPS Energy’s First Lawsuit This Year, Not Even Close
Here is where this story gets harder to ignore. The Sanchez lawsuit did not come out of nowhere. It follows a separate, high-profile case filed just last month in connection with a series of natural gas explosions on San Antonio’s Northeast Side.
On April 21, a home near Preston Hollow Drive and Thousand Oaks Drive exploded and caught fire due to a gas leak, triggering an area evacuation. Residents were later told it was safe to return. That turned out to be the wrong call. According to a lawsuit filed by Mayte Terrie Reeves and Jose Ochoa, an underground gas leak had never actually stopped. Gas accumulated inside their home and ignited, causing a second explosion. Both Reeves and Ochoa were hospitalized. At last check, Reeves was in fair condition and Ochoa was in good condition.
Three other victims, Timothy and Kimberly Nowell and their daughter Ali, were also caught in those explosions. The Nowells remained in critical condition, while Ali was listed in stable condition.
The lawsuit filed by Reeves and Ochoa accuses CPS Energy of failing to inspect and maintain its natural gas infrastructure, giving inaccurate safety clearances to residents, and lacking proper training and supervision. That case also seeks more than $1 million per plaintiff and includes gross negligence allegations on top of standard negligence claims.
What We Can All Learn From This Pattern
Two major lawsuits against the same utility within roughly two months is not just a legal story. It is a signal worth paying attention to, especially if you live in a city where CPS Energy serves your home.
The first takeaway is the importance of surveillance cameras. In the Sanchez case, the couple’s own security footage may be their strongest piece of evidence. If you rent or own a home, cameras covering your driveway and the utility infrastructure near your property can matter far more than most people expect when something goes wrong.
The second lesson is about trusting your instincts when a utility tells you everything is fine. In the Northeast Side gas explosion case, residents were cleared to return home before it was actually safe. That decision proved catastrophic. If you smell gas or something feels off, calling 911 and waiting for an independent verification rather than relying solely on a utility’s word is always the smarter play.
The third thing worth noting is that these lawsuits hold more than just CPS Energy accountable. The Sanchez case names the distributor and manufacturer of the transformer as well. When infrastructure fails, the full chain of supply and responsibility matters, and courts are increasingly willing to examine all of it.
For San Antonio residents, the broader question is whether CPS Energy’s infrastructure problems are isolated incidents or part of a larger pattern that deserves more scrutiny. With multiple lawsuits now in the pipeline, that question is likely to get a very public answer.