SAN ANTONIO — A former nightclub employee is accused of intentionally setting a fire inside a downtown business last fall.
Douglas Cavender, 33, is charged with arson in connection with an October 27, 2025 fire at a nightclub on College Street near Navarro Street.
Fire crews were dispatched just after 8 p.m. after a fire alarm was triggered. When firefighters arrived, they found water flowing through the building and followed it up to the fourth floor, where they discovered a smoldering fire on a countertop.
Investigators said the fire involved combustible materials, including a sleeping bag or comforter placed over fuel sources like sterno cans. A butane torch was also found underneath, with its control knob melted in the “on” position. The building’s sprinkler system had already activated and largely knocked down the flames, according to the arrest report.
Officials determined the fire was intentionally set.
According to the report, fingerprints recovered from glass doors at the scene matched Cavender.
Security camera footage also showed a man identified as Cavender, a former employee who had been fired months earlier, going up and down the stairwell leading to the nightclub multiple times shortly before the fire started. Investigators said he was the only person seen entering that area before firefighters arrived.
The video also showed Cavender carrying bottles of liquor from the business. Several bottles seen in the footage were later recovered near the doors where his fingerprints were found, the report states.
Firefighters reported the door to the nightclub was unlocked when they arrived, while all other entrances were secured.
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No injuries were reported in the fire.