Neighbor Called Hero In Dallas House Fire
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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Three firefighters were injured late Monday night after flames ripped through a home in the Red Bird area of Dallas. The incident happened at around 10:45 p.m. in the 1500 block of Drury Drive.
Heavy smoke was filling the house when emergency crews arrived at the scene. Witnesses stated that an explosion went off inside of the structure. Firefighters said that it was not like a bomb, but more of a "smoke explosion."
The homeowner said that he woke up to see flames and smoke everywhere. He has lived in this house for more than 40 years, along with his mother.
A neighbor is being hailed as a hero for running across the street to help those two people get out of the burning home. Both of the residents have medical issues that prevented them from escaping quickly on their own. But everybody, even the family dog, got out alive. There were two men and four women inside of the home at the time of the fire.
Luis Robles was barefoot and barely dressed when he dashed across the street in freezing temperatures to help save his neighbors. "We see the fire, we just run towards the house," he said early Tuesday morning. "We didn't have nothing. I was just in my shorts and T-shirt, no shoes or nothing. We just running."
Even at 100 feet away from the home, Robles could feel the intensity of the flames. "We just feel the heat," recalled the heroic neighbor. "We just moved everybody on the ground at that point."
The explosion injured two Dallas firefighters working at the scene. "There was a big flash and everything started flying away from the house," Robles added. The third firefighter was hurt during overhaul procedures. The firefighters were all taken to Parkland Hospital in Dallas, but are now resting at home and expected to be okay.
The fire was put out in around an hour, after causing extensive damage to the home.
Fire investigators believe that the blaze began when a resident failed to fully extinguish a cigarette after smoking in the home's garage. The resident said that he was smoking there about 20 minutes prior to alarms sounding. When he went to check on the garage, he found flames.
Meanwhile, investigators are also trying to figure out what started another house fire less than a mile away. That house fire broke out just after midnight in the 2200 block of Sea Island Drive. Six people living at the home were able to reach safety without any injuries.
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